Rookie

Rookie
Rookie
Background Information
Name	Song Eui-jin (송의진)
Country of Birth	; South Korea
Birthday	March 11, 1997 (age 24)
Residency	KRKorea
Competitive
Team	⁠⁠Invictus Gaming
Contract Expires	2021-11-16
Role	; Mid Laner
Favorite Champs	; ; ; ;
Soloqueue IDs	CN: 把我当成一颗树叭; QWEASDQWE123; KR: 말라질꺼야; qweasdqweasdqw; 111112222222222; EUW: v0PnXqLxFmfcD83s
Social Media & Links

Song "Rookie" (▶️ listen) Eui-jin (Hangul: 송의진) is a League of Legends esports player, currently mid laner for Invictus Gaming.

Team History

Combine Role Swaps:No|Yes

Dates:Approx|Exact

	Team		Start	End
KR	⁠⁠KT Rolster Arrows		Oct 20132013-10-07^[2]	Oct 20142014-10-06^[1]	1yr 30d ejel
CN	⁠⁠Invictus Gaming		Dec 20142014-12-18^[3]	Present	6yr 7mo ej

	Team	Start	End		Notes
KR	⁠⁠KT Rolster Arrows	Oct 20132013-10-07^[2]	Oct 20142014-10-06^[1]	1yr 30d	ejel
CN	⁠⁠Invictus Gaming	Dec 20142014-12-18^[3]	Jun 20192019-06-13^[4]	4yr 5mo	ejel
CN	⁠⁠Invictus Gaming	Jun 20192019-06-13^[4]	Jul 20192019-07-01^[5]	18d	Inactive ejel
CN	⁠⁠Invictus Gaming	Jul 20192019-07-01^[5]	Present	2yr 29d	ej

News

2013

KR

⁠

⁠KT.A

October 7,
ssumday,
Most 3,
Riris, and
Renewal join.
MakNooN,
Sonstar, and
Olleh leave.^[2] Most 3 renames to Rookie.

e

2014

KR	⁠⁠KT.A	October 6, KaKAO and RooKie leave.^[1] e
CN	⁠⁠iG	December 18, KaKAO, RooKie, MaFa (Coach), and PoohManDu (Coach) join.^[3] e

2018

CN	⁠⁠iG	November 19, Duke, Ning, and Rookie's contracts expire but departure is not confirmed. Baolan's contract expires but departure is not confirmed.^[7] e
CN	⁠⁠iG	December 21, Duke, TheShy, Rookie, and JackeyLove's contracts are extended.^[8] Duke's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 19 November 2019. TheShy, Rookie, JackeyLove, and Baolan's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 16 November 2021.^[9] e

2019

CN	⁠⁠iG	June 13, xin joins from academy roster. Rookie becomes inactive.^[4] e
CN	⁠⁠iG	July 1, Rookie becomes active.^[5]^[6] e

Biography[edit]

2014 Season[edit]

Rookie (also stylized RooKie and RooKiE) joined KT Rolster Arrows as a mid laner, originally with the name Most 3. This new KTA team played their inaugural OGN in HOT6iX Champions Spring 2014. They managed to upset SK Telecom T1 K in the group stage and made it to the quarterfinals but they lost 3-1 to CJ Entus Blaze. HOT6iX Champions Summer 2014 was KTA's breakthrough season, upsetting Samsung Blue 3-2 in the finals to win the OGN Championship. KTA managed to qualify for the 2014 Season Korea Regional Finals but they lost 3-0 to NaJin White Shield in the second round. Rookie left the Arrows in October to join Invictus Gaming in December alongside his teammate from KTA, KaKAO.

2015 Season[edit]

RooKie played in his first full tournament with the team during the 2015 Demacia Cup Spring Season where they managed to make the finals but lost 3-0 to EDward Gaming. IG placed fifth in the 2015 LPL Spring Regular Season but placed third in the 2015 LPL Spring Playoffs after losing 3-0 to EDG in the semifinals but beating Snake eSports 3-1 in the third place match. In the 2015 Demacia Cup Summer Season, IG placed fourth by making it to the semifinals but losing 3-1 to EDG and then 3-2 to Snake. IG placed third in the 2015 LPL Summer Regular Season and managed to play third in the 2015 LPL Summer Playoffs by losing 3-2 to the Qiao Gu Reapers but beating EDG 3-1. IG qualified for the 2015 Season China Regional Finals and placed second by beating Qiao Gu 3-0 to take the third and final Chinese seed for the 2015 Season World Championship. IG was placed in a group alongside Cloud9, Fnatic, and AHQ e-Sports Club. Unfortunately, they ended with a 2-4 record and were knocked out of the tournament in last place.

2016 Season[edit]

The 2016 season was fairly straightforward for IG. The team placed 4th in the 2016 LPL Spring Season with an 8-8 record. They were quickly knocked out of playoffs in the first round after getting swept 0-3 by Snake Esports. The summer season was identical to the spring one for IG since they finished in 4th again with a 5-11 record. The summer playoffs also had the same result and IG were knocked out in the first round again by getting swept by I May.

2017 Season[edit]

Invictus Gaming finished 3rd in Group A of the 2017 LPL Spring Season with an 8-8 record. They would then drop out in the first round of the playoffs with a 1-3 loss to Newbee. IG participated in the 2017 Demacia Cup and finished 3rd after a 1-3 loss to I May in the semifinals. Their summer season was similar to their spring season and they finished 3rd with a 10-6 record. They did much better in the playoffs and finished 3rd with a victory over Team WE in the third place match. IG then participated in the 2017 Season China Regional Finals but failed to make it to Worlds after Team WE got their revenge against them and beat them 3-2.

2018 Season[edit]

Rookie and iG kick-started their season with a 3rd place finish in the Demacia Championship, losing 2-1 to Snake Esports in the loser's semifinal. Just two weeks later saw the start of the LPL Spring Season. Despite a regular season series record of 18-1, with their only loss being against Royal Never Give Up, this did not translate into success in the Spring Playoffs. Invictus Gaming were defeated 3-2 by RNG in the semifinals, this being followed by a 3-1 loss at the hands of Rogue Warriors in the third-place match. Although their performance could be considered a disappointment, their placement secured them a spot at Rift Rivals 2018.

A 3rd place finish in the Demacia Cup, this time losing to Bilibili Gaming in the loser's semifinal, was followed by a successful showing at Rift Rivals. Rookie and the team won both of their group stage games, helping the LPL to an eventual triumph over the LCK in the final. Invictus Gaming once again achieved an 18-1 regular season record in the LPL Summer Season, their sole loss again to RNG. Despite the similarity of the year's regular season performances, a successful showing in the Summer Playoffs, finishing runner-up to Royal Never Give Up after a tight 3-2 series, resulted in the team's qualification to the 2018 Season World Championship on points.

Invictus Gaming was placed in Group D for Worlds 2018, alongside Fnatic, 100 Thieves, and G-Rex. The group stage round robin concluded with iG and Fnatic tied for 1st place at 5-1. The tiebreaker went in the favor of Fnatic, resulting in Rookie and the team being drawn against KT Rolster in the quarterfinals. A tense affair saw iG emerge victorious 3-2 and progress to the semifinals where they met G2 Esports. A more straightforward 3-0 series secured them a place in the finals. Awaiting their challenge were Group D counterparts, Fnatic. Invictus Gaming's convincing performance in the finals resulted in a 3-0 victory, and made them the first Chinese team to win a World Championship.

2019 Season[edit]

Rookie and iG started the season with a strong showing in the LPL, placing 2nd in the LPL Spring Season en route to their first domestic win in the organization's history. Rookie and iG win 3-0 against JD Gaming in the finals, qualifying iG for the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational. At MSI IG went 9-1 in the group stage, only dropping a game to SK Telecom T1. They were heavy favourites to win the tournament but shockingly lost to Team Liquid 3-1 in the semi-finals.

On returning to China, Rookie and Invictus Gaming struggled to continue their dominance and finished 9-6 in the LPL/2019 Season/Summer Season and were knocked out 3-0 by LNG Esports in playoffs. However, they were able to attend the 2019 Season World Championship, after beating JD Gaming and Top Esports in 5 game series. At the World Championships, IG made it all the way to the semi-final, before getting knocked out by the eventual champions, FunPlus Phoenix 3-1.

Trivia[edit]

Nicknamed "Faker Junior" since his debut for having a large champion pool and incredible mechanics.
Regarded as one of the best players of all time
Voted to represent LPL in 2015, 2018, and 2020 All Stars.
Regarded by many analysts and casters as top 3 mid laner in the world in 2015, the best player in the world in 2018, and top 3 in 2020.
Known for his
Syndra,
LeBlanc, and
Orianna.
Speaks Chinese fluently and considered himself as the best Chinese language proficiency among the Korean pros.
A very good singer can sing in Chinese as well.
Reached 1,000 Kills in the LPL on April 13, 2017.
- The 10th player to reach 1000 Kills in the LPL, after Uzi, Cool, Kid, NaMei, Zz1tai, Clearlove, Deft, GodV and imp.
Reached 1,500 kills in the LPL on July 18, 2018.
- The 2nd player to reach 1500 Kills in the LPL after Uzi.
- His 1,500th kill was on Team WE's Top Laner 957 in the LPL 2018 Summer Season with
  Zoe.
Reached 2,000 kills in the LPL on March 11, 2020, his 23rd birthday.
- The 2nd player to reach 2,000 kills in the LPL after Uzi.
- His 2,000th kill was on Vici Gaming's top laner Cube in the LPL 2020 Spring Season with
  Syndra.
Reached 2,500 kills in the LPL on January 20, 2021.
- The 2nd player to reach 2,500 kills in the LPL after Uzi.

Pentakills

Date	Region	Tournament	Team	Vs	Champion	Pos	W/L	KDA	SB	VOD
2020-03-31	CN China	LPL 2020 Spring			Neeko	Mid	W	9/1/7	Link	Link

Click here for a full list of pentakills by all players.

Tournament Results[edit]

This table shows up to the 10 most recent results. For complete results, click here.

Rookie Tournament Results
Date	Pl	Event	Last Result	Team	Roster
2021-04-01	9 - 10	LPL 2021 Spring Playoffs	2 : 3⁠⁠RA	⁠⁠iG	TheShy, XUN, Rookie, Wink, Lucas, Along
2021-03-28	9	LPL 2021 Spring	9 - 7⁠⁠RR	⁠⁠iG	TheShy, XUN, Rookie, Wink, Puff, Baolan, Lucas, Along
2020-08-30	3	LPL 2020 Regional Finals	1 : 3⁠⁠LGD	⁠⁠iG	TheShy, Ning, Rookie, Puff, Baolan, fly, Chris
2020-08-16	6	LPL 2020 Summer Playoffs	0 : 3⁠⁠LGD	⁠⁠iG	TheShy, Ning, Rookie, Puff, Baolan, fly, Chris
2020-08-09	3	LPL 2020 Summer	12 - 4⁠⁠RR	⁠⁠iG	TheShy, Ning, Rookie, Puff, Southwind, Reheal, Baolan, Fly, Dingbo, Chris
2020-05-29	7 - 8	Mid-Season Cup 2020	0 - 3⁠⁠RR	⁠⁠iG	TheShy, Ning, Rookie, Puff, Southwind, fly
2020-04-29	4	LPL 2020 Spring Playoffs	0 : 3⁠⁠FPX	⁠⁠iG	TheShy, Leyan, Ning, Rookie, Puff, Southwind, fly, Dingbo
2020-04-20	1	LPL 2020 Spring	14 - 2⁠⁠RR	⁠⁠iG	TheShy, Ning, Leyan, Rookie, Puff, Southwind, fly, Dingbo
2019-11-02	3 - 4	Worlds 2019	1 : 3⁠⁠FPX	⁠⁠iG	TheShy, Leyan, Ning, Rookie, JackeyLove, Baolan, Mafa
2019-09-08	1	LPL 2019 Regional Finals	3 : 2⁠⁠TES	⁠⁠iG	TheShy, Leyan, Rookie, JackeyLove, Baolan, Mafa

Rookie 1v1 Tournament Results
Date	Pl	Event	Prize	Team	Last Result
2018-12-08	3 - 4	All-Star 2018 Las Vegas		⁠⁠LPL	1 : 2 ⁠⁠ Pabu
2015-12-13	9 - 16	All-Star 2015 Los Angeles		⁠⁠Ice	0 : 1 ⁠⁠ LeX

Media[edit]

2014
2015
2017
2018
2019
2020

July 2, A RooKie no longer by , and on LoL Esports
e
November 18, True LoL Show EP.17 - KaKAO, Rookie by , and on OGN Global
e

October 4, IG vs AHQ - Rookie and Kakao Interview with , and on Twitch
e
October 5, RooKie on iG: 'even though we got our first win today, I'm really worried for the three games that are about to come' with , and on The Score
e
December 13, RooKie on iG's future: 'if each person does his job...we're a team that can really excel' with , and on The Score
e
December 14, Rookie on All Stars, Learning Chinese, and a Special English Message to His Fans with , and on onGamers
e

July 31, IG Rookie: “Korea is my home country and the LCK is my league, so I might return to it one day.” with , and on Slingshot Esports
e
August 10, Rookie and the rookies: Invictus Gaming makes a bid for worlds contention with , and on Kelsey Moser for Slingshot Esports
e

July 6, IG Rookie on His Eternal Idol, Faker: His Respect for the Player, the Change in Faker's Playstyle and His Tears with Hee Eun "Youii" Yoo, Woo "Ready" Hyun, , and Changsik "Alle" Son on Inven Global
e
September 13, Rookie heads to Worlds as China’s undisputed MVP by Xing Li on Dot Esports
e
September 25, Interview with iG Rookie and Jackeylove on Korean bootcamp with Ashley Kang on Korizon Esports
e
October 10, IG Rookie on Why LPL Is Dominating, His World Championship Goal, and Tips for Other Import Players with Ki-Baek "Juneau" Nam, Sihoon "Maloo" Lee, and Woo "Ready" Hyun on Inven Global
e
October 13, Rookie explains IG's meme about everyone stealing Jackeylove's penta with Travis Gafford on YouTube
e
October 13, Worlds Group Stage 2018 top 30 players: 5-1 by Rui Yang Xu on The Game Haus
e
October 25, Almost Winners by Kien Lam on LoL Esports
e
October 31, With one more victory at Worlds, Rookie can bring glory to his adopted homeland by Xing Li on Dot Esports
e
November 1, A marquee match in mid lane: Caps vs. Rookie by Emily Rand on ESPN
e
November 1, 10 great plays from Caps and Rookie to hype you up before Worlds finals by Aaron Mickunas on Dot Esports
e
November 9, Fnatic may have lost, but here are five reasons why LCS fans should be happy Invictus won Worlds by Aaron Mickunas on Dot Esports
e
December 20, From 'Rookie' to world champion and everything in between by Tyler Erzberger on ESPN
e
December 27, Faker vs. Rookie is the worlds showdown we all want to see by Tyler Erzberger on ESPN
e

May 10, Rookie and Faker face off at MSI in a battle for global mid lane supremacy by Malcolm Abbas on Dot Esports
e
May 11, Rookie on how talented IG is and his expectations for rematches against G2 and SKT with Darius Matuschak on The Shotcaller
e
May 11, IG Rookie: "I want to have a rematch with G2 and SKT with standard picks from both sides." with Joonkyu "Lasso" Seok and Woo "Ready" Hyun on Inven Global
e
October 12, [Worlds 2019] IG Rookie on SKT: "I want to meet them as late as possible. Although we’re the defending champions, they're way too strong.” with Youngbo "Roxyy" Sim & Daniel "Quest" Kwon on Inven Global
e
October 13, Rookie explains what revenge against Team Liquid looks like for IG with Travis Gafford on YouTube
e
October 23, Rookie on eliminating Team Liquid from Worlds 2019, facing GRIFFIN in Quarters with Darius Matuschak on The Shotcaller
e
October 26, [Worlds 2019] IG Rookie on Semifinals: "I hope our fellow Chinese team FPX makes it, since a semifinal between the two LPL teams would mean that China would at least come in second." with Byungho "Haao" Kim & Daniel "Quest" Kwon on Inven Global
e

January 18, How Korea's Beloved Champion Became China's Hometown Hero: The Story of Rookie by theScore Esports on YouTube
e
September 26, Faker and Rookie- Two Gods on a converging path by Mush on Esports Heaven
e

Post-Match Interviews

Date	Tournament	Match	Link
2021-06-07	LPL 2021 Summer	iG vs SN	Link
2021-03-25	LPL 2021 Spring	LGD vs iG	Link
2021-02-04	LPL 2021 Spring	iG vs OMG	Link
2021-01-10	LPL 2021 Spring	JDG vs iG	Link
2020-12-19	All-Star 2020	LCK vs LPL	Link
2020-12-18	All-Star 2020	LPL vs LJL	Link
2019-10-20	Worlds 2019 Main Event	ahq vs iG	Link
2019-07-05	Rift Rivals 2019 LCK-LPL-LMS-VCS	iG vs FW	Link
2019-05-10	MSI 2019 Main Event	PVB vs iG
2018-11-03	Worlds 2018 Main Event	FNC vs iG	Link
2018-10-11	Worlds 2018 Main Event	iG vs GRX	Link