This Saturday, Gen.G became only the third team in history to win the Mid-Season Invitational in back-to-back years, joining SKT (2016–2017) and Royal Never Give Up (2021–2022). This victory marked another individual record for Park “Ruler” Jae‑hyuk, making him the first player ever to win three major international titles with three different teams.

His trophy cabinet now includes Worlds 2017 with Samsung Galaxy (that becomes Gen.G in 2018), MSI 2023 with JD Gaming, and MSI 2025 with Gen.G. By lifting the MSI trophy for the second time — first in 2023 with JD Gaming in the LPL, and now in 2025 with Gen.G in the LCK — Ruler becomes the only player to win MSI with teams from two different regions.

A triumphant return

Ruler's comeback to the LCK has been nothing short of spectacular. After a challenging 2024 season with JDG, where the magic of their 2023 run faded, finishing without a title or any international qualification, few could have predicted such a powerful return. Coming back to Korea meant more than just changing leagues: it meant taking the place of Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan, one of the LCK’s most promising young ADCs.

Yet, from his first games in the LCK Cup until now, it has become clear that this wasn’t just nostalgia. Paired with Joo "Duro" Min-kyu, a rookie stepping onto the international stage for the very first time, Ruler helped forge a new botlane dynamic that mixed experience and fearless creativity. Duro, barely into his first year in the LCK, now has something most veterans can only dream of: an international title.

Yet there were reasons to doubt. Last year’s botlane duo of Peyz and Son "Lehends" Si-woo had been nothing short of dominant in Gen.G’s run to the MSI 2024 title, and since the start of this season, Ruler had shown flashes of vulnerability (though “weakness” might be too strong a word) in a league where even the smallest mistakes can be ruthlessly punished at the highest level.

But at this MSI, those doubts have vanished. Ruler proved he still has that same clutch factor that once crowned him world champion back in 2017. In each of the three series where Gen.G was pushed to a deciding Game 5, it was Ruler who held the line and turned the most chaotic, high-stakes teamfights in his team’s favor. He is, of course, not the sole architect of their success — Gen.G’s run has been a collective triumph — but without Ruler, it’s hard to imagine them maintaining their staggering streak of 23 consecutive wins across all competitions.

And to etch his name into history a little deeper, Ruler once again overcame T1 and Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok in an international final — as if fate itself keeps tying their stories together, nearly eight years after that legendary Worlds 2017 showdown.

A final for the ages

Looking back, Ruler’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary. In 2017, he stunned the world by leading Samsung Galaxy past the legendary SK Telecom T1 to claim the World Championship. In 2023, he crossed the sea to China, helping JD Gaming capture their first-ever MSI title. And now, in 2025, he returns home to Korea to guide Gen.G to international glory.

Adding to the historic weight of this achievement, the grand final itself became an event for the ages. As Gen.G faced off against longtime rivals T1, the showdown drew over 3.4 million concurrent viewers worldwide outside of Chinese platforms, making it the most-watched MSI final in the tournament’s history and adding yet another layer of legend to Ruler’s triumphant return.