In the 2024 LPL Spring Split, Bilibili Gaming (BLG) and JD Gaming (JDG) are among the few teams still undefeated. For JDG, their recent opponents have mostly been formidable teams like NIP and LNG. This makes Ruler and his teammates’ victories all the more convincing.
A significant contributor to JDG’s recent success is the familiar name, Ruler. The 2017 World Champion is the player with the highest damage contribution at 33.5% of JDG’s total damage. This shows that Ruler is a crucial “lifeline” for JDG and is completely dominating the 2024 LPL Spring Split in the ADC position.
Despite shining brightly, LPL media considers Ruler a “potential threat” to JDG itself. The reason is that JDG is overly dependent on this player to secure victories, as other positions like Yagao or Flandre struggle to shine. If Ruler cannot gain an advantage early in the game, this team is likely to face a “deadlock”.
In the LPL arena, this does not happen too often as Ruler completely outclasses other ADCs in the region. However, when stepping into international tournaments, the risk of a playstyle revolving around Ruler rises significantly. A prime example is at Worlds 2023 when the duo Gumayusi – Keria performed exceptionally well, preventing Ruler from dominating the bot lane as usual. The consequence was JDG’s bitter elimination, failing to complete the “Grand Slam” of titles in 2023.
Fairly speaking, Ruler’s dominating performance is also due to the lack of a significant rival in the LPL. The most notable names like Elk or JackeyLove have all been defeated by Ruler in the 2023 season. For JDG, it’s understandable that they play around such an outstanding player like the 2017 World Champion.
With Ruler’s somewhat “devastating” form, it is no surprise that he and JDG are set to win the 2024 LPL Spring title. Perhaps it will only be when international tournaments occur that this player will face real rivals from the LCK. As long as he performs well and adds more titles with JDG, complaints about Ruler will surely vanish without a trace.