The year he turned 18, he joined Samsung Galaxy in May and played his first LCK match. In October, Samsung Galaxy lost the World Championship final 3-2 to SK Telecom T1 and finished as runner-up.
The breakthrough yearIn November 2017, the year he turned 19, he beat SK Telecom T1 3-0 in the final at the Beijing National Stadium and won the World Championship and the finals MVP award, which made his name known. Later that month he re-signed with Samsung Galaxy.
In 2018, he played for the national team at the Asian Games and won a silver medal. The next year, he signed a three-year contract with Gen.G.
In 2021, he finished second in the LCK Spring final and lost to Edward Gaming in the World Championship semifinals. At the end of the year he was named bot laner of the year at the LCK Awards.
In August 2022, Gen.G beat T1 in the LCK Summer final for the first LCK title in the team’s history. The World Championship ended in a semifinal loss to DRX; in November he left Gen.G, and in December he joined JD Gaming.
In 2023, he won the LPL Spring title, with finals MVP, and MSI with JD Gaming, and in September he won an Asian Games gold medal in Hangzhou. The World Championship in November ended in a semifinal loss to T1. In October 2024, he ended his contract with JD Gaming, and in November he returned to Gen.G.
In 2025, the year he turned 27, he won MSI and the Esports World Cup in July in his first season back, and the LCK title in September. The World Championship ended in a semifinal loss to KT Rolster.
In 2026, he won the LCK Cup in March, and in September he beat Hanwha Life Esports in the LCK final and was named finals MVP.
Ruler (born Dec 29, 1998) played his first LCK match for Samsung Galaxy on May 26, 2016, the year he turned 18, and became known when he won the World Championship and finals MVP on Nov 4, 2017, the year he turned 19. In 2023, the year he turned 25, he also won MSI with JD Gaming.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
After playing for Stardust in Challengers Korea, he joined Samsung Galaxy in May. Before joining, he changed his nickname from Beong to Ruler.
Source 01 · Daily eSports (Korean) · Who is No. 1 in the Champions MVP race? · opens in a new tabSource 30 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Ruler · opens in a new tab The May move was confirmed in news reports. The 17th is from Wikipedia and could not be confirmed in news reports.In his first match for Samsung Galaxy, against Rox Tigers, he played Lucian and had 4 kills, 3 deaths and 11 assists.
Source 02 · Daily eSports (Korean) · Champions round 1 review: Ruler · opens in a new tab He had played in Challengers for Stardust before that. This record treats his first league match after joining Samsung as his debut.Samsung Galaxy lost the final to SK Telecom T1 by a series score of 3-2 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It was the first Worlds final to go to a fifth game.
Source 03 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · SK Telecom T1 wins back-to-back Worlds titles · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Inven (Korean) · Ruler wins the finals MVP award · opens in a new tab Oct. 30 is Korean time; the match was on Oct. 29 locally.Samsung Galaxy beat SK Telecom T1 3-0 in the final at the Beijing National Stadium, and he was named finals MVP. Fomos wrote that he had reached the top bot laner spot in the world a year and a half after his debut.
Samsung announced on its official social media that it had re-signed every player who competed at Worlds.
Source 07 · OSEN (Korean) · Samsung re-signs every player who went to Worlds · opens in a new tabPlaying for the national team, he lost to China in the final at Britama Arena in Jakarta and received a silver medal.
Source 08 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · LoL national team wins silver · opens in a new tabGen.G Esports announced a three-year contract.
Source 09 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Gen.G signs Ruler for three years · opens in a new tabPlaying for Gen.G, he reached the final but lost to Damwon Kia.
Source 10 · Daily eSports (Korean) · Teams set for the 2021 MSI · opens in a new tabLost 2-3 to Edward Gaming in the semifinals in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Source 11 · Kukmin Ilbo (Korean) · Gen.G narrowly lose to EDG in the Worlds semifinals · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time.Was named player of the year in the bot laner category of the awards by position.
Source 12 · Inven (Korean) · LCK Awards players of the year by position · opens in a new tab The date is the date of the article; the date of the ceremony was not confirmed.Gen.G beat T1 3-0 in the final at Gangneung Arena. He took 16 kills on Zeri in game 1, and Kuki News described it as his first league title.
Source 13 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Gen.G beat T1 3-0 in the LCK Summer final · opens in a new tabSource 14 · Kuki News (Korean) · Ruler parts ways with Gen.G after seven years · opens in a new tabLost to DRX by a series score of 1-3 in the semifinals in Atlanta, in the United States.
Source 15 · The Fact (Korean) · T1 and DRX meet in the Worlds final · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time.Gen.G said he had become a free agent by mutual agreement, and it permanently retired his jersey number 1.
Source 14 · Kuki News (Korean) · Ruler parts ways with Gen.G after seven years · opens in a new tabJD Gaming of China’s LPL officially announced that it had signed him.
Source 16 · Daily eSports (Korean) · Ruler joins JD Gaming · opens in a new tabJD Gaming beat Bilibili Gaming 3-1 in the final in Shanghai, and he was named finals MVP. He is the third player to have won titles in both the LCK and the LPL.
Source 17 · Daily eSports (Korean) · JD Gaming beat BLG for back-to-back LPL titles · opens in a new tabJD Gaming beat Bilibili Gaming 3-1 in the final in London. Yonhap News Agency wrote that he now held both an MSI title and a World Championship title (2017).
Source 18 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · JD Gaming win MSI · opens in a new tab May 22 (Korean time) is from Yonhap News Agency; Sports Seoul gave May 21 (Korean time).The national team beat Chinese Taipei 2-0 in the final. It was the inaugural League of Legends gold medal at the Asian Games, and he was one of six national team players.
Source 19 · Insight (Korean) · LoL players win Asian Games gold · opens in a new tabLost to T1 in the semifinals in Busan and was eliminated. Maeil Business Newspaper wrote that T1 stopped JD Gaming’s bid for a Golden Road, a sweep of the regional and international tournaments held that year.
Source 20 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · T1 beat JD Gaming to reach the final · opens in a new tab It was confirmed only that the semifinals were played on the 11th and 12th; the date of JD Gaming’s match could not be identified.JD Gaming announced the early end of his contract on its social channel. The two-year contract signed in November 2023 ended after one year.
Source 21 · Kukmin Ilbo (Korean) · Ruler and JDG end their contract · opens in a new tabGen.G announced on its official social media that he was returning as its bot laner.
Source 22 · Inven (Korean) · Ruler returns to Gen.G Esports · opens in a new tabGen.G beat T1 3-2 in the final at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. It was his second MSI title, after the 2023 title with JD Gaming.
Source 23 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Gen.G beat T1 for back-to-back MSI titles · opens in a new tabSource 18 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · JD Gaming win MSI · opens in a new tabGen.G beat China’s Anyone’s Legend 3-2 in the final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Source 24 · Sports Seoul (Korean) · Gen.G win MSI and the EWC in a row · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time.Gen.G beat Hanwha Life Esports 3-1 in the final at Inspire Arena in Incheon. It was Gen.G’s sixth LCK title overall and his first season back with his former team.
Source 25 · Newsis (Korean) · Gen.G beat Hanwha Life for a sixth LCK title · opens in a new tabLost to KT Rolster by a series score of 1-3 in the semifinals in Shanghai.
Source 26 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Underdog kt heads to Chengdu · opens in a new tabGen.G beat BNK FearX 3-0 in the final at Kai Tak Arena in Hong Kong. One game ended around the 30-minute mark with his pentakill.
Source 27 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Gen.G win the 2026 LCK Cup unbeaten · opens in a new tabGen.G beat Hanwha Life Esports 3-1 in the final at KSPO Dome in Seoul to win back-to-back titles. Kukmin Ilbo reported that he was named finals MVP.
Source 28 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Gen.G win back-to-back LCK titles · opens in a new tabSource 29 · Kukmin Ilbo (Korean) · Ruler’s revival · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2016–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
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AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
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Games · South Korea
Dec 29, 1998 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1998: the year of the event minus 1998, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.10.03 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.