Invictus Gaming (IG), sometimes written as iG, is a Chinese esports organization that plays many different video games. It was started in 2011 by businessman Wang Sicong. The organization is most famous for its teams in Dota 2, League of Legends, and StarCraft II. IG's Dota 2 team won The International 2012, and its League of Legends team won the 2018 World Championship.
History
Invictus Gaming was started in 2011 by Wang Sicong, who is the son of Wang Jianlin, one of the richest people in China and Asia. Wang Jianlin bought a team called Catastrophic Cruel Memory (CCM) for about US$6 million to help improve professional esports in China. Today, Invictus Gaming has teams that play Dota 2, League of Legends, Crossfire, and StarCraft II.
After buying CCM, Invictus Gaming formed a new team called iG.Y by hiring players from LGD, a strong team in China. This happened shortly after the purchase of CCM. The team is also known as iG.Z, which includes players Zhou, SanSheng, Ferrari 430, Xiao8, and DDC. iG.Y finished third in the World DotA Championship 2011, and iG.Z won the CPL 2011 tournament. These two teams were considered among the strongest in the Dota 2 scene at the time.
In November 2011, Invictus Gaming combined the two teams to create one team with the best Chinese Dota 2 players. The team included Chen "Zhou" Yao, Jiang "YYF" Cen, Luo "Ferrari 430" Feichi, Wong "Chuan" Hock Chuan, and Zeng "Faith" Hongda, with Chen "Zhou" Yao as the team captain.
After reorganizing the team, they won the SMM Grand National DotA Tournament world championship. In 2012, they also won the ACE Dota Pro-league 2012 and G-League 2012 Season 1.
In late 2011, Invictus Gaming’s Dota 2 team started playing Dota 2. The team kept the same players: Chen "Zhou" Yao, Jiang "YYF" Cen, Luo "Ferrari 430" Feichi, Wong "Chuan" Hock Chuan, and Zeng "Faith" Hongda. In 2012, they won The International 2012 tournament, defeating Natus Vincere in a best-of-five series. The finals were held in Seattle, US, and the team earned $1,000,000 in prize money.
In the same year, Invictus Gaming’s Dota 2 team also won the World Cyber Games 2012. However, because one player, Chuan, was from Malaysia, he could not compete in the event. The team replaced him with Li "chisbug(CH)" Chen. Invictus Gaming and DK (another team) both performed well in the tournament, and Invictus Gaming won the final match with a 2–0 score.
In 2012, Invictus Gaming’s Dota 2 team won several tournaments, including ACE Dota Pro-league 2012, G League 2012 Season 1 and 2, The International 2012, and WCG 2012. The team was nominated for awards in 2012, and all five members were recognized. Three players were among the top five in awards, and the team won the best team award. Invictus Gaming was also named the team of the year in Liquid’s Dota 2 Awards 2012. Individual awards included Chen "Zhou" Yao as best Carry, Zeng "Faith" Hongda as best Support, and Luo "Ferrari 430" Feichi as best Ganker.
In September 2013, Zhou left the team after two years. He was traded to TongFu, and Hao joined Invictus Gaming. Banana joined the team later that month, and Zeng "Faith" Hongda became the new captain. The team won ECL 2013 and finished second in G-League 2013 Season 1 and 2013 WPC ACE Dota 2 League. In 2014, Chen "Hao" Zhihao and Wang "Banana" Jiao left the team. Wong "Chuan" Hock Chuan returned, and Luo "Luo" Yinqi joined as a new Carry player. Invictus Gaming won WPC 2014. In June 2014, they became champions of ESL One Frankfurt by defeating Evil Geniuses with a perfect score of 22:0. In August 2014, YYF retired, and Faith left the team. They were replaced by Lin "June" Shiyang and Li "CHisbug" Chen, who had not played for two years. In March 2015, Xu "BurNIng" Zhilei joined, and Zeng "Faith" Hongda returned. Lin "June" Shiyang left, and Li "CHisbug" Chen became a tactical analyst. Invictus Gaming won Major All Stars Season 1.
In August 2011, the team that later became Invictus Gaming, called Catastrophic Cruel Memory, won the 2011 WCG China Regional Finals. That same month, Invictus Gaming bought Catastrophic Cruel Memory’s team. The team included Sun "XiaoXiao" Yalong, Zong "Luffy" Yuan, Wong "Tabe" Pak Kan, Lo "Wh1t3zZ" Pun Wai, and Siu "ChrIs" Keung. These players formed Invictus Gaming’s League of Legends team. In November 2011, Chen "illuSioN" Xin-Lin and Yang "BlackWeapon" Ao joined the team, while Zong "Luffy" Yuan left.
In January 2012, Invictus Gaming’s League of Legends team won a silver medal at the World GameMaster Tournament 2012. From March to May 2012, the team made changes, including hiring new players and coaches. In April 2012, the team finished the LPL Spring regular season in fifth place. In the playoffs, they won their first-round match against VICI Gaming but lost to Edward Gaming in the semifinals. On April 27, 2012, Invictus Gaming won third place in the LPL Spring tournament after defeating Snake 3–0.
In April 2012, Invictus Gaming defeated World Elite in the finals of an International Esports Tournament and won their first title of the year.
In 2016, Invictus Gaming’s League of Legends team competed in the LPL Spring Championships.