RNG Exits League of Legends: The Fall of a Former Titan

If you've been following LoL Esports for a long time, then chances are you'll remember Royal Never Give Up (RNG), formerly Royal Club, as one of the most legendary and historic organizations in the Chinese scene. Now, more than 10 years after they started competing, RNG exit the scene through the back door.

Once titans of the LPL, the last few years have been nothing to write home about for RNG. In fact, the team's last official match came all the way back in May of 2025. After finishing in joint last place in Group Nirvana of the LPL Split 2, RNG missed their chance to return to the league for Split 3 to close out the year. Little did fans of the historic team know at the time, that would be the last time RNG would compete in League of Legends.

A Pillar of LoL Esports

Where does one even begin when talking about the importance that the RNG organization has had on LoL Esports, both in China and internationally? For starters, RNG/Royal Club has been the home of some of the most legendary League of Legends players to ever touch the game.

Some of the biggest names to have played for the organization include Choi "inSec" In-seok, Zhu "NaMei" Jia-Wen, Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao, and, of course, perhaps the greatest Chinese player of all time, Jian "Uzi" Zihao. Keep in mind that this is only a handful of the countless stars that have played for the club.

Uzi led RNG to their first MSI title in 2018. (Credit: LoL Esports)

But RNG's accomplishments don't stop at housing and forming legends of the game. In fact, RNG is the only organization in LoL Esports history to have won MSI three times (2018, 2021, 2022). At Worlds, their best attempt came in 2017, where Uzi and company fell to Faker and SKT in a hard-fought semifinal bout.

Ever since their promotion to the LPL back in 2016, RNG have risen to the top of the league to come away with the trophy a total of five times across the years. This makes RNG the organization with the second most LPL titles ever, just one trophy behind EDward Gaming's six. Ultimately, when it comes to the League of Legends history books, there are very few teams who will find their names repeated across the pages more than RNG.

RNG's record of three MSI titles earned in 2022 still holds to this day. (Credit: LoL Esports)

An End to the Free Fall

Historic or not, the truth is that RNG has been on nothing short of a free fall over the last few years. After winning MSI in 2022, the team has struggled to reach their former heights, missing every single international tournament ever since (besides Worlds 2022).

In the LPL, the team's low point arrived when they only managed to come away with a single win in Group Nirvana in Split 2 of 2025, effectively saying goodbye to the league for the remainder of the year. What was supposed to be a half-year-long hiatus has now turned into a disappearing act, with RNG announcing their farewell from League of Legends altogether.

In China, the RNG name will no doubt be remembered with conflicting emotions. For the rest of the world, RNG remain MSI record-holders, and an important pillar of the rise of LoL Esports. With South Korean titans of T1 and Gen.G just one MSI title away from the Chinese organization's tally, the question now is: how much longer will RNG's record stand?

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Featured image credit: Royal Never Give Up

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