IG Rookie opens up after LoL Worlds 2025 elimination: “We left some regrets on stage”

After a tough loss to T1 for the final spot at the LoL Worlds 2025, Song “Rookie” Eui-jin spoke with esports.gg about the team’s performance, what they lacked to overcome the Korean powerhouse, and what lies ahead for IG.

He also shared a heartfelt message for the fans who continue to support the team, even while balancing their own personal responsibilities. With over a decade of career, Rookie believes there is still a lot of room to improve and grow as a team.

T1 and IG protagonized one of the most iconic matches of all time. Rookie was part of the squad that dethroned the Korean supremacy at the LoL Worlds. From 2013 to 2017, the trophy went either to SK Telecom T1, now only T1, or Samsung White.

It was then, in 2018, that the Chinese team finally got their hands on their first LoL Worlds title with Invictus Gaming (IG). Rookie and Kang "TheShy" Seung-lok lifted that trophy that finally brought happiness to the Chinese scenario after losing two finals in a row.

With a new roster featuring Yan “Wei” Yang-Wei, Chen “GALA” Wei, and Tian “Meiko” Ye, who previously won the World Championship in 2021 with EDG, IG aimed to get back on track and return to the Worlds stage. However, they faced the defending champions and the most decorated team in the tournament’s history. Despite their efforts, IG couldn’t secure a victory and was ultimately eliminated from the LoL Worlds 2025 tournament.

Sofia: How do you feel about your performance today and the series overall?

IG Rookie: First of all, we lost the game; we couldn’t secure the victory. Mentally, it’s tough. I feel really sorry and disappointed. I truly wanted to lead the team, together with all my teammates, to achieve a win. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it happen this time, and we’re left with some regret on stage. Credit to our opponents, though, because they performed really well.

Sofia: The team fights seemed to be your Achilles' heel. What do you think was missing for IG to break through T1's strong positioning and coordination?

IG Rookie: I think overall, it’s not like we got completely smashed by the opponent. The game actually went back and forth quite a bit, with both sides kiting and trading. What we wanted to do was find moments when the opponent was vulnerable and try to take control of the tempo, but I feel we didn’t execute that part very well.

T1 is really experienced. They played calmly and intelligently, without rushing. On the other hand, we sometimes rushed our decisions a little too much. Especially during some of the key team fights for important objectives, we didn’t perform well. Either we lost the fight or failed to find a good position to engage. Because of those small details we didn’t handle properly, we ended up losing the game.

Sofia: The draft adjustment to Hwei was pretty rough, but you still performed really well. How would you describe that intense match, and what do you think failed there?

IG Rookie: When they decide to make a play, they do it very decisively and aggressively, but at the same time, they can also stay really stable and play safely when needed. We missed a few chances to turn things around and make a comeback in the game.

Even when we were in disadvantageous situations, we still tried to fight back and managed to have some good team fights. But overall, in terms of macro play and team coordination, the opponents performed better than we did.

Sofia: After playing for the team for almost seven years, and coming back later in 2024, how does it feel to be playing in the LoL Worlds after so many years?

IG Rookie: Well, it’s been a long journey. We’ve been playing for nearly 10 years now. I really feel that if we had more opportunities to try different strategies or approaches, it would make things even more interesting.

For today, we definitely left some regrets on stage. Honestly, we didn’t expect to face T1 right from the start as the fourth seed. But even so, I feel like I’ve found a lot of meaning in today’s game. I was able to learn so much from this series.

Sofia: What do you think the team needs to work on before the next season?

IG Rookie: I’m not really sure about next year’s roster yet, but for now, I just want to focus on today. I believe that everyone on IG has their own strengths and abilities, but sometimes we tend to rush things a little. Because of that, in some of the key team fights, we couldn’t secure a clean victory, or we made mistakes that gave our opponents the advantage.

Even when we were ahead, we sometimes lost the lead or gave up opportunities because of small errors throughout the series. Hopefully, we can learn from this loss. If we can really identify and fix these problems, I believe it’ll help us a lot in our future careers.

Sofia: Do you want to leave a message for the IG fans?

IG Rookie: I’m really just a fan of our fans. I believe every fan has their own life and responsibilities, yet they still choose to spend their time supporting us, and that means a lot to me. That’s also one of the reasons I’m here today, because I know I can keep giving my best for them. I’m truly happy and grateful to be here.

First of all, I want to express my deepest appreciation to all our fans. Thank you so much for supporting IG throughout the entire year. From the start of this season, I said that I wanted to go all the way with my teammates, to reach the very end together, but unfortunately, we couldn’t make that happen. We definitely have some regrets, and I want to apologize to our fans for that.

Even though this year ends with disappointment, I hope each of us can become better versions of ourselves in the future. Please continue to support all the IG players, and thank you again for your unwavering support.

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