IG

Biodata

Roster and Staff

Players

Management

• Principal Wang — Authorizes an aggressive recruitment offer for Lu Chen, instructing Su Xiaoluo to sign him even if the price is exceptionally high 6.
• Su Xiaoluo — Handles recruitment negotiations, player onboarding, training arrangements, and interview preparations 6 18 23 37.
• Mafa — Directs drafts and lineup selections; credits Lu Chen with transforming IG's coordination and carrying power 8 25 30 41.

History

Search for a New ADC

Before Lu Chen's recruitment, IG's top, mid, and jungle positions had strong options, but bot lane remained its most exploitable weakness. West could survive ordinary matchups without reliably carrying, while JackeyLove's age prevented him from competing. The increasing importance of ADCs in the S7 meta made an immediate upgrade especially urgent 3 5 7.

Kid discovered Chen,Yu after suffering a severe ranked defeat and finding that the opposing ADC's account had reached Master with 520 LP and a 90% win rate. IG investigated and sought a tryout, but its friend requests went unanswered while Chen,Yu climbed to first on the Chinese server. Rival clubs began pursuing him before IG finally established contact 2 3 5 6.

With Principal Wang's backing, Su Xiaoluo opened negotiations at an annual salary starting at two million. Lu Chen had already chosen IG as his preferred destination because he regarded its roster as nearly complete apart from ADC 6.

Lu Chen's Arrival

Lu Chen arrived during a scrim against EDG and watched IG lose the opening game after being aced around fifteen minutes. He then took West's station and reversed the matchup with Caitlyn and Draven, impressing both teams with his spacing, reactions, and ability to carry 7 8 11 15.

IG welcomed him formally and announced the signing on Weibo. Because his competitive ID, Chen Yu, differed from Chen,Yu by punctuation, the club explicitly confirmed that its recruit was the famous ranked player. Su Xiaoluo and Mafa subsequently learned that he had spent two years as an unused RNG youth-team substitute and chose not to bring up that history with him 16 17 18.

Summer Split Transformation

Under Lu Chen's shot-calling, IG's coordination improved, including Baolan's vision and positioning. After six crushing scrim victories, Mafa argued that the team should preserve its winning momentum rather than temper its confidence 25.

IG opened the Summer Split by sweeping reigning Spring Split champion WE, then extended its run to six consecutive series victories. Lu Chen's debut and Twitch pentakill helped overturn the team's longstanding reputation as Rookie carrying an otherwise unreliable lineup 26 33 36 38.

World Championship Qualification

With Lu Chen banned for much of the Summer Split, West returned to the starting lineup. IG finished third in the LPL playoffs and swept OMG in the regional qualifier, setting up a final series against WE for the remaining Worlds berth 40 41.

Although Lu Chen's ban had been lifted, Mafa initially retained West because of his recent experience with the team. Rookie's standout performances won games two and three, but further bot-lane struggles prompted Mafa to field Lu Chen for game five. IG won the deciding game and joined EDG and RNG at the LPL send-off ceremony 40 41 44 45.

S7 World Championship

Before traveling to Wuhan, IG maintained its form through scrims, chiefly against EDG, RNG, and WE, with a smaller number against LCK teams. As the only LPL team in the Play-In, it received overwhelming home support and was scheduled to open the tournament against Latin America's LYN 47.

IG drafted an aggressive Draven composition against LYN's more conventional mid-to-late-game lineup. Coordinated bot-lane pressure and early dives gave Lu Chen a 5–0 score, leaving IG's staff confident in an opening victory; the provided account does not show the match's conclusion 48 49 50.

Competitive Record

Competitive Approach

Bot-Lane Pressure

• Lu Chen's arrival allows IG to select lane-dominant ADCs it previously struggled to use effectively, notably Caitlyn 8.
• His champion pool gives Mafa greater draft flexibility; banning Caitlyn does not prevent IG from threatening opponents with Draven 11.
• Baolan and Ning Wang coordinate with Lu Chen on early turret dives, turning lane advantages into kills and first-turret pressure 14 30 49.

Shot-Calling and Objective Control

• Lu Chen's direction improves team coordination and Baolan's vision work 25.
• Against WE in the qualifier, IG converts a failed enemy dive into towers, jungle resources, Rift Herald, and dragons 44.
• IG destroys two inhibitors before twenty minutes, then secures Baron while TheShy intercepts Condi's attempted steal 44.

Aggressive Drafting

• IG fields an early-game composition of Cho'Gath, Elise, Syndra, Kalista, and Alistar in Lu Chen's LPL debut 26.
• Its Worlds opener uses Rumble, Elise, Syndra, Draven, and Thresh rather than following LYN's meta-heavy draft 48.
• The Draven composition depends on creating an early lead and ending quickly; failing to snowball risks losing effectiveness later 49.

Club Operations

• Training requirements: Players must meet a Korean-server ranked-point requirement; the club imposes no equivalent requirement on the Chinese server 18.
• Streaming contract: Players stream fifty hours per month on Hu Sha 18.
• Streaming income: Earnings are split with the platform, with no club cut and no gift-revenue quota 18.
• Facilities: The headquarters includes reception, a second-floor training room, and individual player training stations 7 18.
• Team celebrations: Players celebrate Lu Chen's signing over hot pot; after the opening WE sweep, the owner pays for another large meal 17 18 37.

Supporters and Public Image

• Before the roster transformation, viewers commonly described IG as “one god carrying four deadweights,” referring to Rookie's burden 16 26.
• At the opening Summer Split match, IG draws a much smaller crowd than WE 25.
• Its fans are then known as the “Dog Sons”; the later “Chicken Fans” nickname has not yet appeared 37.
• Lu Chen's debut, pentakill, and viral interview drive sharp increases in both his following and IG's official Weibo following 37 38.
• For the Worlds Play-In opener, the broadcast records 99.9% audience support for IG, reflecting its position as the only home-region team in that stage 47.