Gen.G: From Samsung's Champions to Korea's Most Consistent Team

On November 4, 2017, Samsung Galaxy swept SK Telecom T1 3-0 in the Beijing National Stadium and became world champions. Less than four weeks later, on November 30, Samsung sold its whole esports division, world-champion roster included, to a new company called KSV. Six months after that, KSV became Gen.G.

That odd beginning explains a lot about the team that plays Bilibili Gaming in the Worlds final on November 14, 2026. Gen.G started life holding a Summoner's Cup it had not won itself, then spent the next eight years becoming the most consistent team in Korea without getting back to a world final. Here is the story.

The Samsung inheritance

Samsung's League teams were among the best in the game's early years. Samsung White won Worlds in 2014 in Seoul, and Samsung Galaxy won it again in 2017, with ADC Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk as Finals MVP. When the division changed hands, it carried that history with it.

KSV was founded by a group of American and Korean-American entrepreneurs: Kevin Chou, Kent Wakeford, Michael Li and Phillip Hyun. On May 3, 2018, it rebranded as Gen.G, with offices in Los Angeles, Seoul and Shanghai, and has since run teams in several games alongside its League roster.

The years of almost

After 2018, Gen.G became a fixture in the late stages of Worlds without ever breaking through:

• 2020: lost in the quarterfinals to G2 Esports
• 2021: lost in the semifinals to EDward Gaming, the eventual champions
• 2022: lost 1-3 to DRX in the semifinals
• 2023: lost 2-3 to Bilibili Gaming in the quarterfinals
• 2024: lost in the semifinals
• 2025: lost 1-3 to KT Rolster in the semifinals

Domestically, the picture was completely different. The signing of mid laner Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon for 2022 changed everything. Gen.G won the LCK in Summer 2022, Spring 2023, Summer 2023 and Spring 2024, four titles in a row, and Chovy became the first player in league history to win four straight LCK titles.

Two MSIs and a 29-1 season

Gen.G finally won abroad in 2024. At the Mid-Season Invitational in Chengdu, it beat Bilibili Gaming 3-1 in the final on May 19, with support Son "Lehends" Si-woo as MVP. It defended the title in 2025 in Vancouver, beating T1 3-2 in the final on July 12, this time with Chovy as MVP.

The 2025 season was the team's high point. Gen.G finished the LCK regular season 29-1, put together a 27-series win streak across the league, MSI and the Esports World Cup, which it also won, and saw all five starters named to the All-LCK First Team. Then it lost to KT at Worlds.

2026: the double, and a final at last

This year has been nearly perfect at home. Gen.G won the LCK Cup, beating BNK FearX 3-0 in the Hong Kong final, and the LCK season, beating Hanwha Life 3-1 at KSPO Dome on September 13. Chovy was season MVP and Ruler was Finals MVP. The blemishes were abroad and in qualifiers: a semifinal loss to G2 at First Stand, and a 2-3 defeat by T1 in the Road to MSI qualifier that kept the two-time defending champions out of MSI 2026.

At Worlds, Gen.G has not lost a series. It went 3-0 in the Swiss stage, swept LYON 3-0 in the quarterfinals and swept Invictus Gaming 3-0 in the semifinals, with Canyon as series MVP. It is the organisation's first Worlds final since Samsung Galaxy won in 2017.

Why it matters

Gen.G has spent the LCK franchise era as the league's model of stability: one roster, clear roles, few dramas. A Worlds title would complete the set for Chovy and turn the team's reputation from "best regular-season team" into simply "best team". For the full path to the final, see our Worlds 2026 road-to-the-final story, and for its star mid laner, our Chovy profile.