Honestly, if you weren’t watching League of Legends back in 2018, it is hard to explain just how much the ig worlds winning roster changed everything. It wasn't just a win. It was an exorcism. For years, the LPL (China's pro league) was the " bridesmaid" of the international stage, always getting close but inevitably getting crushed by the Korean machine.
Then came Invictus Gaming.
They didn't just win; they played a style of League that felt like a bar fight. Total aggression. Zero fear. They looked at the "perfect" macro play of the era and decided to just punch it in the face.
Who Was on the IG Worlds Winning Roster?
When we talk about the ig worlds winning roster, we are talking about five—well, technically six—names that became instant legends in Incheon, South Korea. The starting five for the 2018 Finals against Fnatic was a mix of terrifying mechanical prodigies and veteran stability.
- Top Lane: Kang "TheShy" Seung-lok (and sub Lee "Duke" Ho-seong)
- Jungle: Gao "Ning" Zhen-Ning
- Mid Lane: Song "Rookie" Eui-jin
- Bot Lane: Yu "JackeyLove" Wen-Bo
- Support: Wang "Baolan" Liu-Yi
People often forget Duke was there. He was the "sub," but calling a former SKT World Champion a sub is like calling a Ferrari a backup car. He provided that veteran "I’ve been here before" energy when things got shaky. But let’s be real: 2018 was the year of TheShy.
TheShy basically redefined what a top laner could do. Before him, top lane was often the "island" where tanks sat and farmed. He brought out carries. He took 1v4 fights and somehow won them.
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Why This Group of Players Was Different
You’ve gotta understand the context of 2018. Royal Never Give Up (RNG) was supposed to be the chosen team. They had Uzi. They won everything leading up to Worlds. When they got upset by G2 Esports in the quarterfinals, the entire LPL fanbase went into a collective meltdown.
IG was the last hope.
And they were a weird team. Rookie had been the heart of the organization for years, often carrying "dead bodies" (as the fans used to say) just to keep the team relevant. He finally got teammates who matched his skill.
The Jungle-Mid Synergy
Ning and Rookie were the engine. Ning wasn't the most "consistent" jungler in the world—he was a "coinflip" player. But at Worlds 2018, that coin landed on heads every single game. He was so aggressive that it forced the enemy junglers into panic mode. This freed up Rookie to do what he does best: win lane by 40 CS and then roam to destroy everyone else.
The Arrival of JackeyLove
Then you had JackeyLove. He was the "prodigy" who couldn't play for the longest time because of age restrictions. 2018 was his first real year. He made some massive rookie mistakes during the regular season, but in the Worlds quarterfinals against KT Rolster, he flashed forward into five people as Kai'Sa.
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It was a "hero or zero" play. He became a hero. That single moment is probably why the ig worlds winning roster exists today. If he dies there, IG loses, and we’re talking about another year of Korean dominance.
The Finals: A 3-0 "Clap"
The actual Finals against Fnatic? It was a massacre.
It remains the quickest Best-of-5 in Worlds history (around 85 minutes of actual game time). Fnatic entered with so much hype, but they just couldn't handle the raw solo-lane pressure.
In Game 1, Ning’s Camille was everywhere. In Game 2, TheShy’s Irelia was a nightmare. By Game 3, it felt like Fnatic had already checked out. JackeyLove went 13/0/7 on Kai'Sa in the closing game. It was a statement.
What Happened to Them?
E-sports moves fast. This roster didn't stay together forever. In fact, the "fall" of the ig worlds winning roster is almost as famous as the rise.
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- Rookie & TheShy: They stayed the longest, but eventually, the magic faded. TheShy went to Weibo Gaming (and made another Finals run in 2023!), while Rookie bounced around teams like V5 and NIP.
- JackeyLove: He left for Top Esports (TES) in 2020 and has remained one of the best ADCs in the world. He’s still the face of the LPL in many ways.
- Ning & Baolan: Both took breaks from pro play. Ning became a popular streamer before trying a comeback with teams like UP.
The Lasting Legacy of IG 2018
What most people get wrong is thinking IG won because they had better "tactics."
They didn't. They won because they were better at fighting. They forced teams to play a high-variance, chaotic style that no one else had mastered. They ended the "Sustain/Macro" era of League of Legends and ushered in the "Fast/Aggressive" era we are still in today.
If you want to understand the modern LPL—the reason why Chinese teams are always looking for a fight—you have to look back at the 2018 ig worlds winning roster. They were the ones who proved that being the "best" doesn't mean being the "safest."
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
- Watch the VODs: If you want to improve your own mechanics, go back and watch TheShy’s laning phase from the 2018 knockout stage. It’s a masterclass in spacing.
- Study the Drafts: Notice how IG prioritized solo lane priority over almost everything else. This is still a core pillar of winning League of Legends.
- Acknowledge the Shift: Understand that the "Korean Style" of slow, methodical play was effectively ended by this specific IG roster.
The 2018 victory wasn't just a trophy for a shelf. It was the birth of the LPL as a global superpower. Every Chinese victory since then—FPX in 2019, EDG in 2021—owes a debt to the five guys who finally broke the glass ceiling in Incheon.
Key Stats from the 2018 Finals:
- Result: IG 3 - 0 FNC
- MVP: Ning (Jungler)
- Total Match Time: ~85 minutes
- JackeyLove's Game 3 KDA: 13/0/7