Gen.G's Ruler: League Of Legends Meta & What It's Like To Be The Defending Champions
By Zac Cameron ·
In the midst of all the action of the LCK, we caught up with Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk, Bot Laner for Gen.G and MVP from the 2017 Season World Championships.
Of all the teams in the LCK right now, Gen.G is certainly a dark horse when it comes to predictions of victory. Much like their season last year, the unassuming team is more than happy to fly under the radar and strike when the time is right, a strategy that worked well enough to advance all the way to the Grand Finals of the 2017 League of Legends World Championships, where they proved to be the more dominant team on the day as they claimed a relatively quick 3-0 victory over SK Telecom T1.
Known for his impressive skill in the bot lane, we caught up with Ruler to get his thoughts on life as a defending World Champion, his thoughts on the current Meta, and who he would like to test his skills against.
Twin Galaxies: Now that we’ve been able to see it in action for a few weeks, what are your thoughts on the current Meta, particularly with how longtime Marksman characters are no longer seeing play?
Ruler: Simply, I think the current Meta involves many ongoing fights throughout the game. The reason Marksman characters are no longer frequently used is that Non-Marksman champions are currently better equipped to make it through the laning phase. Also, Marksman characters are a lot easier to kill in the current aggressive Meta.
킹갓제너럴엠퍼럴 룰러! 오늘 룰러 선수의 활약이 돋보였던 ‘하루’! 시즌 6승을 달성했습니다!
— Gen.G LOL (@Gen_G_LOL) June 29, 2018
응원해주신 모든 팬 여러분 감사합니다!
Call him "King, God, General, Emperor" Ruler.
With Ruler's amazing plays, Gen.G makes 6th win of the season!#WeAreGenG #GenGWin #LCK pic.twitter.com/BQswJREt3o
Twin Galaxies: Do you feel that this current trend in the Meta is good for your team, or not?
Ruler: This Meta does present a challenge since it weakens all the AD Carry champions, but we’re working hard to adapt.
Twin Galaxies: Is there a particular champion you would like to see played more often?
Ruler: There are many AD Carries I’d like to see played more, but if I have to choose one it would be Kai'Sa.
Twin Galaxies: Is there any particular champion that you think is too strong right now?
Ruler: I think Swain is a little bit stronger than the other champions.
Twin Galaxies: As defending World champions, are you excited about your new in-game team skins?
Ruler: I’m really pleased with the recently released in-game team skins, especially because they incorporate and reflect various aspects of Korean culture.
PBE-Vorschau: Samsung Galaxy Skins#PBE #Gnar #JarvanIV #Ezreal #Taliyah #Xayah #Rakan #leagueoflegends pic.twitter.com/Mr2jtfEkji
— League of Legends DE (@LoLGermany) June 26, 2018
Twin Galaxies: If you could play against any team in the world in a best-of-five match, which team would you like to face, and why?
Ruler: I want to have a best-of-five match with RNG. I have faced off against them in a single round match, so it would be interesting to play them in a Bo5.
Twin Galaxies: If you could compete at your current skill level but during any of the previous seasons, which season would you pick and why?
Ruler: I would pick last year’s Summer season. If we could participate again at our current skill level, we do believe we could get first place.
Twin Galaxies: Which team would you consider your biggest rival in the LCK?
Ruler: I think ‘KING-ZONE Dragon X’ is our biggest rival.
Twin Galaxies: Which team member is the best at Teemo?
Ruler: I would say Fly is.
Twin Galaxies: Do you have any tips for people who want to improve at the game in general?
Ruler: I think watching some of the best professional player’s ‘Ranked Solo Queue’ highlights will help people to improve their gaming sense and skills.
Twin Galaxies: Is playing in the LCK different now that you are the defending World Champions?
Ruler: Nothing much has changed.
The team formerly known as Samsung Galaxy pose with the Summoner's Cup
Twin Galaxies: If there was one ability in the game you could remove, what would it be and why?
Ruler: I want to remove Yasuo’s ‘Wind Wall’. It is so annoying to play against as AD Carry.
You can follow all of Gen.G’s latest news by following their Twitter, here, and you can see how Gen.G is doing right now in the LCK on the official standings page, here.