LPL Roster Changes: JDG Bids Farewell to Knight

JD Gaming (JDG) will be rebuilding their team after mid-laner Zhuo “Knight” Ding’s departure, confirmed via a tweet on December 1st. Knight, who played a pivotal role in JDG’s 2023 campaign, helped the team secure three titles in one year and was a cornerstone player in their last campaign. JDG wished him continued success and acknowledged his contribution to the team.

Knight’s departure comes after JDG’s loss to eventual champions T1 at the League of Legends (LoL) World Championships in November. JDG was downed at the Worlds semifinals, which cut short their Golden Road. Knight is the second core player to depart JDG after a dominant 2023, which included a clean sweep of both the Spring and Summer LPL splits, as well as the squad’s iconic win at the Mid-Season Invitational over BLG. After the victory, Knight earned the MVP award after the 3-1 victory.

Another Roster Change

JDG CEO confirmed that Kanavi, Ruler, and Missing had re-signed with the organization last week, extending their contracts through to 2025. However, without Knight and Bai “369” Jia-Hao mentioned, it became clear that JDG would not be fielding the same squad that dominated the LPL this year.

「JDG .Announcement」

Today, we bid farewell to Knight.

As a cornerstone player in our last campaign, his highlight reel of outplays and the 3 titles in one year will remain forever in JDG’s history book.

We appreciate his contribution and wish him continued success. pic.twitter.com/mbNYCfp7zl

— JD Gaming (@JDGaming) December 2, 2023

Knight will not be leaving competitive LoL anytime soon as he prepares for his eighth year in the region’s top-flight league. The mid-laner joined JDG in early 2023 after over three years with Top Esports where he won two splits and recorded a semifinal finish at Worlds 2020. He parted ways with TES after the squad crashed out of Worlds 2022 outside of the top eight, joining JDG where he instantly clicked, and the rest was history.

Unconfirmed rumors have circulated that Knight is lining up a deal with Bilibili Gaming for the 2024 season, but without official confirmation, it remains to be seen what the 23-year-old has in store for the upcoming LoL season. Should he link up with BLG, he will replace Zeng “Yagao” Qi whose contract expired following the end of the 2023 season.