The Shocking Deal of the Former World Champion
A few days ago, Riot Games posted an interesting tweet on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) aimed at helping the community showcase memorable escape moments. However, notably, LPL fans took this post as an opportunity to discuss a “shocking” deal of the former World Champion of 2018 – JackeyLove. Upon closer examination, this deal was no different from JackeyLove’s memorable escape moment.
Specifically, in 2020, JackeyLove’s cousin and agent signed a transfer contract for this player with RNG. However, when the official contract was sent to JackeyLove and his cousin, both were taken aback by its unreasonable terms. This made JackeyLove unwilling to join RNG, but his cousin’s prior signing made it difficult for the 2018 World Champion to join another team.
Subsequently, JackeyLove had to pay a hefty sum of 6 million CNY (approximately 21 billion VND) to break this contract. This allowed JackeyLove to join another team without any obligations from RNG. Eventually, TES recruited this player with a very good offer, and JackeyLove has remained with them until now.
SofM Almost Became Teammates with the 2018 World Champion
Another noteworthy detail mentioned is that Suning was the team that approached JackeyLove in 2020. They even promised JackeyLove that they would free him from the aforementioned “unreasonable” contract with RNG. However, Suning failed to fulfill this promise, leading JackeyLove to pay out of pocket to break the contract with RNG.
During that time, many rumors about JackeyLove joining Suning and becoming teammates with SofM were circulating. However, IG jumped into the fray for this player by sending Huanfeng to Suning in exchange for the opportunity to recruit JackeyLove. Suning accepted this and withdrew from the competition for JackeyLove. As a result, the prospect of SofM playing alongside the 2018 World Champion faded away.
JackeyLove Avoided Burying His Career at RNG
Looking back at this deal, JackeyLove indeed made the right decision by not joining RNG. The team’s performance in recent years has continuously declined, and RNG is no longer viewed as a strong team in the LPL. A prime example is in the 2024 Summer Split, where RNG could not even secure a playoff spot.
Furthermore, RNG has been criticized by many players and coaches for salary debts and poor financial conditions. It should be noted that while TES has rarely achieved notable results in recent years, this organization still boasts a star-studded roster and offers top-tier compensation. For a player with a reputation like JackeyLove, avoiding RNG was an extremely wise decision. Otherwise, it’s highly likely that the career of the 2018 World Champion would have been buried early at this organization.