To be called “god” is to be revered as the summit of the esports world — and before Faker, there was Mingi “MadLife” Hong.
MadLife, a support, is one of two players — the other being Yilang “Doublelift” Peng — to attend every single All-Star Event. He is the very embodiment of what’s expected of All-Star players. It’s not enough to just be good, you have to be popular. And that comes along with the ability to transcend the expected on Summoner’s Rift.
MadLife earned his nickname because of his ability to seemingly see into the future. It was as if his hooks reached into that vision to grab his enemies before they even knew which direction they were running.
He served as the face of Korea’s CJ Entus since 2012, when they were still known as Azubu Frost and battled all the way to the 2012 World Championship Finals. There, they suffered a bitter and surprising defeat to the Taipei Assassins. Thus began CJ Entus’ slow fade from prominence. Even MadLife found himself on the bench from time to time. The narrow losses grew into a frustrating nightmare for the team.
There wasn’t a happy ending for the squad — no come-from-behind miracle. No last second shot. They weren’t able to rebound to reclaim their former glory. And after a disappointing summer, CJ Entus was relegated from the LCK to end the 2016 season.
But MadLife’s story doesn’t end there. He remains one of the most respected players in the League of Legends world — evidenced by being voted into this year’s ASE despite his team’s relegation.
He is deeply appreciative of the moment, and says, “I think the LCK is the best league in the world, and to be able to represent my league is a great honor. I can’t express how happy I am to be selected by the fans. But being here is thanks not only to my own accomplishments or skills, but also to my teammates and to other teams in the LCK who have made me better through competition.”
To call MadLife a humble player and person is an understatement. That nature comes with the role — it is not often you find flamboyant support players. Which isn’t to say they can’t carry — the role’s importance has only evolved throughout the years, as many support players are expected to be the cerebral voice on the team. For every sugar-laced carry that twitches and shoots at the slightest rust in the bushes, there needs to be someone to first check it for them.
Someone needs to provide light in times of darkness. And who else to do that but supports. Who else but MadLife (and his Thresh lantern). Supports are often expected to shot call and to keep their eyes on the entirety of the map. MadLife’s reputation as “god” extended beyond his micro-level predictive abilities. He also served as a watchtower for his teams. He constantly surveyed the entire Rift. He provided vision and watched over his team’s health. And all the while, he still landed his godly hooks.
The role may not be as mechanically intensive as the one it babysits — the ADCs — but even that idea may be overstated. There are few champions in League of Legends who are capable of making a more impressive looking play than Thresh. And MadLife made a living on making plays, despite what he may say about staying in the shadows.
There’s a Kingdom Hearts quote that says, “The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.” If that’s true, then MadLife lived on the fringe of that light.
“Your personality needs to be oriented towards supporting your teammates,” he says to aspiring support players. “Don’t seek the spotlight yourself, but enable everyone else to perform better. Fulfill your role by doing all the dirty work. Check the spells and small things around the game so your teammates can focus on fighting.”
In short, to be a great support, you simply need to know everything there is to know about the game and the opponent — you must make strides towards omnipotence. The ultimate support is a player who makes it as easy as possible for everyone else to succeed. MadLife continues, “You need to be able to sacrifice for your team so your teammates can be more successful.”
MadLife has played League of Legends since 2010. He’s seen every aspect of the game evolve — from champions and metas to every inception of the esports scene. Hundreds of players have come and gone during MadLife’s career. He played alongside top laner Sang-Myeon “Shy” Park for 1,626 days before their recent departure from CJ Entus. This was the longest such tenure in League of Legends history.
The 2016 All-Star Event provides him with an opportunity to reflect on his time — which is especially important after this year. And his answer to what makes for a “perfect support player” dated him in a funny way. He says, “Before the EU meta became commonplace, every position was able to make plays.” This references the 2011 World Championship, where the ADC and support bot lane solidified itself thanks to dominance from the European players. That’s a bit of history that so many players today never experienced. Kill lanes in bot are now seen as gimmicky ploys.
“Now, the team has to play a certain style to let your mid and ADC carry,” he says. “Everyone else kind of needs to play around those roles in order to support them. Supports now are not as able to make super plays, but there are still things we can do to carry our team. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how the game has evolved.”
The All-Star Event, too, has changed since its first iteration in 2013. He says, “Back in 2013, it was a very serious event. Every region wanted to compete seriously and win everything. But since then, the event has been tailored to better meet the players’ needs. It’s more casual. For me, coming here every year and meeting all the All-Stars from all the regions makes me experience different things from around the world. It makes me more joyful.”
The air around the All-Star Event is definitely different from Worlds. This is obviously because the stakes here are much lower. For professional players, this is a very relieving event. It helps alleviate and diminish a lot of the stress that is built up through the year. Behind the gut-wrenching losses and setbacks are still players who are adored and revered by their fan bases. It’s a good reminder that League of Legends is supposed to be fun.
But MadLife still wants to win — after all, what’s more fun than winning? He says, “Both serious and casual [events] have pros and cons. Because I’m a professional player, I do want to play with a bit of seriousness, but I also want to have fun. I think that’s a very difficult line to draw.”
Thus far, it seems teams are playing a little more seriously in the regional matchups. Pride surely has a lot to do with it — and at the heart of this event are still players who made a name for themselves by ascending to dominance on the Summoner’s Rift. That climb was built off of winning — over and over again.
He recalls his favorite moments from the All-Star Events, and aside from 2013, when he was able to attend with his fellow CJ Entus players, he says, “Last year, I remember I wanted to play Trundle, because I was practicing him a lot those days. I was confident.
“I told my team I wanted to play Trundle. But Faker said, ‘No, play Blitz,’ and he locked it immediately.” MadLife chuckled thinking about it. “I was very impressed by his boldness.”
While his future may be a little murky, MadLife’s past is one lined with adoration and respect. The LCK has retooled for the 2017 season as some of its rosters are lined with a level of talent that may even surpass its dominant year in 2014. How MadLife will fit into that puzzle is yet to be seen, but he seems adamant about trying to prove his worth again.
Being called “god” comes with an unparalleled amount of respect, yes, but also pressure. One of the defining traits of League of Legends as an esport is that it is constantly evolving. For all the jokes of a sequel to the game, the state it is in now may as well be a sequel to how it was in 2010 when MadLife first loaded onto Summoner’s Rift. To be relevant after all these years is a testament to a person’s ability to adapt. And to be an All-Star that entire time means fans recognize the dedication to that craft.
“God is a nickname reserved for someone who is able to play at really high level for a really long time,” says MadLife. “I feel like when I was first called god, I might have deserved the name. As time goes by, I am becoming less and less deserving of the title. But I am trying to play better to live up to it again — to repay the people and fans who gave me that nickname in the first place.”
For MadLife, it only takes one good hook to change the momentum of a game.
