JDG may have underperformed relative to their talent on the Worlds stage, but it looks like they’re set to run it back in 2024 with three key re-signings.
According to JDG’s CEO on X, formerly Twitter, the team is bringing back Kanavi, Ruler, and Missing, the team’s jungle and whole bottom lane, who have re-signed until 2025.
Reportedly, JDG is also bringing back Knight and adding budding LPL star top laner Breathe for their 2024 campaign. With that roster formation, it’s hard not to see JDG making many more deep runs at international tournaments in the near future.
While JDG fell short of completing the Golden Road (winning every single tournament they took part in for a year) in 2023, their chances at achieving the near-impossible feat look strong for 2024. They were knocked out of Worlds by T1, the eventual winners, and crushed the domestic and international competition over the course of the year.
No one has ever completed the Golden Road in the history of League of Legends esports. The team that came closest was G2 in 2019, but they were crushed by FunPlus Phoenix 3-0 in the Worlds Grand Finals.
With JDG’s rebuild underway, will any team actually complete the challenge? While at times it feels impossible, the fact that JDG was only two series wins away in 2023 and G2 was one series win away in 2019 prove that it’s feasible. Like most absurdly dominant runs, it’ll take more than a stellar, world-class roster: It’ll take a bit of luck, too. JDG happened to run into T1, who were playing like a team of destiny during Worlds. Time will tell whether destiny will shine its light on the Chinese squad, but they’ll need to find a way to defeat history at Worlds if they’re to complete the run, as JDG lost 3-1 to T1 at worlds in 2022 and 2023.
