LOL: What does "mid-lane hybrid expert" mean?

In his previous life, Li Yi was always curious about how professional players trained to maintain their skills when they went out to participate in competitions.

It wasn't until I joined EDG in this life that I realized that the hotels where professional esports teams stay are equipped with temporary training rooms.

The group sat down and connected their equipment.

Mingkai didn't mince words: "Come on, Li Yi, let's duo queue for a couple of games and then I'll see how good you are."

Come on, pull me up.

Although Li Yi didn't think much of the factory manager's competitive level, he absolutely admired his ranking ability.

After all, he became one of the top three players in the Chinese server solely through skill, without having to "mix and match" other players' skills.

"How many of my matches have you watched?" Mingkai asked the question he had been wanting to ask.

"Hmm... I've seen most of them."

Li Yi was telling the truth.

  

As a long-time LPL viewer in his previous life, he naturally rarely missed EDG's matches. However, looking back now, most of the matches he remembers are those where Mingkai underperformed, while he doesn't recall any games where he carried the team.

This is like a work of art that needs to be observed during takeoff.

You might not remember the titles of the classic masterpieces by Japanese adult film actresses, but Li Yi can still readily name works like "Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo's Tragic Love" – a particularly bad one.

"Okay, then you should now understand my jungling style."

Yes, I understand! Absolutely!

The right time, the right place, but the wrong move...

However, Li Yi obviously wouldn't say it aloud, but simply asked Ming Kai for his opinion: "Brother Ming Kai, what should I pick this round?"

Mingkai countered, "What can you do?"

"You know the heroes I'm best at... Actually, I can basically pick any mid-lane hero to play, but whether I can make a difference is another matter."

After all, Li Yi had never invested any points in his operational skills.

This means that while Li Yi can be used to handle the laning phase, he can't necessarily deliver the expected results for many heroes that require individual skill to carry the game.

As for his laning skills, Li Yi described himself as "equal to all," similar to top laner Letme.

A strong mid laner can hold their own in lane; a weak mid laner, even with a counter pick, won't gain much of an advantage.

As for crushing Li Yi in lane... that's even less likely. Look at who this guy usually lanes against in simulation training.

"Fine, you choose the one you're good at first."

Mingkai felt that Abu's suggestion to train heroes should be taken slowly.

In the first game, Li Yi saw that Ming Kai had picked Olaf, so after thinking for a moment, he chose Karma, a mid-lane champion that has recently become very popular in the Korean server.

Karma's RE provides a shield to all nearby teammates, making it a very large-area Ardent Censer trigger. Combined with the recently reworked Chalice of Harmony, it effectively balances damage and shielding.

The newly acquired "screen switching" ability allows Li Yi to see the status of his teammates while laning.

Thanks to Mingkai's timely jungle invasions, the opposing team had no choice but to type, "Mingkai, I'm your fan, go easy on me..."

In the second game, Mingkai picked his signature champion, Spider, a hero focused on tower diving and ganking.

Li Yi then picked Kled, a mid-lane champion he hadn't played much before.

Despite his lack of proficiency, Li Yi relied on his R skill [Charge!] for quick support and his unique passive mechanism of dismounting and switching to tank turrets to gank the enemy top laner Angel in just 8 minutes.

"Was today easy?"

Both games lasted less than forty minutes. Mingkai thought back and realized that even when he duo-queued with Pawn and Scout, he couldn't achieve this level of performance.

This reminded him of a saying.

If you feel comfortable chatting with someone, it's very likely that their emotional intelligence and experience far surpass yours.

This is why, in the "A Midsummer Night's Dream" online romance, Mingkai probably already guessed that the other person was a con artist and a manipulative woman, but he was still willing to immerse himself in it.

The same applies to games. If you're having a good time, it's very likely that your teammates are always able to read your mind and pave the way for your next decision.

Take, for example, his current duo queue with Li Yi.

The opponent is clearly a nobody I look down on, so why is the mid and jungle working together so smoothly... Could it be that this kid's game understanding is really that high?

Mingkai glanced at Li Yi suspiciously.

"Li Yi, what do you think of my game understanding? Could I become a coach after I retire?"

After thinking for a moment, Li Yi replied sincerely, "Brother Mingkai, if you're going to be a coach, you should be a jungler-specific coach, the kind who only mentors the jungler."

This isn't something Li Yi made up.

Looking at it from the perspective of 2026, Ming's coaching career has not been ideal: in S10, he led EDG to miss the playoffs; in S12, he led the original championship team to the quarterfinals; and in S15, he coached JDG and they were captured by Vietnam...

"How many people can you coach?"

"Me? Of course, the more the merrier..."

"You won a Master tier game on Ionia with Enlightened One. You had 0 highlight plays in this game and ranked 4th in the team. Reward: 10 points."

"You won a Master tier game in Ionia with the Berserker Knight. You had 0 highlight plays in this game and ranked 4th in the team. Reward: 10 points."

"Redeem one simulation training session!"

"You have completed a simulation training session with Faker (ultimate form). Rewards: 1 Personal Operation Point, 1 Match Experience Point"

After a few ranked games, Li Yi noticed that his "screen switching" ability had improved slightly.

While Li Yi was engrossed in researching system upgrades, he was suddenly interrupted by Mouse's invitation: "Li Yi, wanna play this new PUBG? We're one short for our three-man game!"

Upon hearing this, Mingkai frowned: "It's fine for you old folks to play by yourselves, but if you bring in newbies and Abu finds out, you're in for a scolding."

"It doesn't matter. To be honest, it's still a holiday. Can't we relax a bit after a day of training?"

"Forget it, I get a little 3D motion sickness." Li Yi casually made up an excuse to get rid of it.

With the Demacia Cup just a few days away, Li Yi wanted to make the most of his time ranking up, gaining points while maintaining his form.

"It's okay, you can be the medic."

Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Li Yi had no choice but to resort to his trump card: "I really can't come. My friend used my account to cheat and got banned by Bluehole for 100 years."

"...You're ruthless."

Seeing Li Yi turn around and start another ranked game, Iboy said with some envy, "Brother Yi, you have so much energy. Since I started playing professionally, I can't find the passion I used to have when I sneaked online. I feel so tired after just a few ranked games."

"Are you... very tired?"

Li Yi's thoughts were drawn back to his past life.

At that time, he was live streaming on Douyin. Although short video platforms have a large user base, the downside is that fans are not very loyal.

Many viewers found Li Yi's matches interesting through streaming, but once the game ended and the chat started, most viewers would swipe away.

In order to do a good job of live streaming, Li Yi had to prepare several League of Legends accounts at the same time, and immediately start the matchmaking queue of another account when the first game was about to end.

Even getting up to use the restroom requires reporting.

After a long and drawn-out cycle, Li Yi probably developed the occupational hazard of a streamer. One day, after staying up all night to boost viewership, he suddenly died and gloriously became a member of the Qidian Orphanage.

Having been reborn, although the pressure at EDG is not small, ... isn't there a lot of positive feedback?

"Now that a starting spot is right in front of me, I have to consider whether this might be my only chance in my life!"