"MeNoHaxor" is a former Challenger Support main that is currently in Master this season. He has also played for 5 seasons for Carnegie Mellon University in the college LOL scene as it has developed to what is it today. I spoke with MeNoHaxor about the current state of Support, low-elo vs. high-elo, and his time with CMU.

What do you think about the current state of Support compared to past seasons and how do you view the ability to climbing playing exclusively Support compared to other roles?

MeNoHaxor: Support is at an incredibly good state in this season compared to the past. Back in the days of season 1 and 2, you were extremely limited in itemization and playstyle. Heart of gold and philosopher’s stone were the only items you can afford, and since sightstone didn’t exist, you were forced to spend all of your income on green and pink wards for vision, maybe getting 1 item if you were extremely wealthy. Playstyle was also very constrained since the support champion pool was so small, but now that the pool of viable supports have nearly doubled, players can master different playmaking supports, think more carefully about itemization choices, and actually do more things other than be a ward bot.

I would still argue that other roles can have a more significant impact in the game than a support, but compared to the past, the amount of influence a support has in a game is so much better than before. It is absolutely manageable for a solo support player to climb to challenger (I did it!).

Who do you think is the most underrated Support in this current meta and why?

MeNoHaxor: I think Taric is extremely undervalued. He’s one of the best supports that can match up well against other melee support, and doesn’t have to face many bad matchups since mage/poke supports are falling off. With the tank/dive meta coming back, his ult is extremely valuable in teamfights and he was already arguably the best team fighting support mid-late game. Plus his buffs allows him to have constant uptime of his Q if you throw autos in between spell casts, so he’s just in an excellent position right now.

Janna is a very close second. She had very bad matchups against most mage/poke supports, but now that they’re started to disappear, she can survive the laning phase very well. The change to completing the coin quest is also very beneficial to her. In the past, when the captain enchantment for boots still existed, many players bought it on her in order to give her team more mobility in sieges and teamfights. Now that it’s returned, I definitely feel that she can offer a ton of utility for her team.

Outside of mechanics, what League “skill” separates low-elo supports from high-elo supports?

MeNoHaxor: The biggest thing I notice is that people in higher elo know what to do in any given situation. They are able to move around the map more quickly and respond to pings faster simply because their game sense becomes second nature to them. Being able to have the game knowledge to plan 1-2 minutes ahead into the future is an absolutely essential skill to have in high elo.

For example, if I know that dragon is coming up in 1:30 min, I can start shifting my sightstone wards to cover the dragon area and surrounding bushes, tell my ADC to shove lane, recall with 1:00 left to restock on wards, then walk back to the dragon area to resupply vision to areas that have been swept. I think that most people in low elo would simply stay in lane until dragon spawns, then start walking over. In this example, having the foresight to prepare a few minutes ahead of time can give my team an edge when a teamfight near dragon happens.

How do you approach a ranked game in mindset before the game starts and in-game?

MeNoHaxor: Before a game, I make sure that I’m well rested and that I’m not feeling distracted. I think about my goals and objectives for the game, whether it be to practice a champion more, try a new build, or to just play at my best for LP. I believe that having an relaxed and motivated mental state is so important when playing ranked games. People tilt quite often if they immediately play a game following a tough loss or argument from a previous game, so having a fresh mindset before each game is good so that your focus is not obstructed in any way.

Do you recommend drills or practice outside of full-length games?

MeNoHaxor: I think reviewing replays is equally as valuable as playing a lot of games. During the heat of the moment, I find it difficult to remember and internalize all of the good things and bad things that happen in a game. Giving each game your 100% and then spending time to review the game aftewards is the most optimal way to identify mistakes and see if you’re improving. If pro teams are doing it, it’s probably effective!

There is always a lot of talk about being “hard-stuck.” How do you overcome this and what would you recommend to other players in the same situation?

MeNoHaxor: I think being “hard stuck” is simply a big mental barrier for most players. I feel that most people that claim to be hard stuck are very tunneled into thinking that teammates are holding them back or that they’re unlucky. Although I agree that there are some games that are simply unsalvageable no matter how well you play, it’s important to focus on the big picture and make sure that even in your losses, you are looking to improve your individual performance. In the long run, if you continue to play well and look for ways to improve, your rank will slowly increase. Getting promoted to a higher rank doesn’t just come overnight, it’s a gradual process of training and improving, just like how getting a 6-pack requires going to the gym frequently over many months or years. Having the patience and discipline to climb over a long period of time is the best way to get out of a “hard-stuck” mentality.

What is the best way for someone trying to build a ranked Champion pool?

MeNoHaxor: I find it much more efficient to develop a champion pool by starting with maining 1 or 2 champions of similar playstyle. Even though many people prefer to be “meta slaves” and constantly switch to the champion that’s objectively the strongest of the patch, I think it’s more efficient to be a master at 1 or 2 champions, regardless of the meta, so that you don’t have to spend so much time learning about champion-specific mechanics, and instead develop better overall game sense and matchup knowledge. Once you climb to higher ranks and begin to plateau, then it’s a more appropriate time to begin learning new champions.

You played for Carnegie Mellon in this year's college tournament. What advice do you have for players trying to start or expand a college LOL team at their university?

MeNoHaxor: There are a lot of factors you can and can’t control when trying to make a strong LoL team at your college. For example, the number of available students for starting players is very dependent on your school size. For my college at Carnegie Mellon, which is a private university, we have a significantly smaller student body size than a place like UBC, so finding players that are motivated to play competitively, let alone are even good enough to play competitively, was an extremely difficult challenge for me.

I would also advise reaching out to student organizations of other schools to set up scrim schedules. It’s very valuable to have a network of other organizers you can contact easily, and befriending them can help you out in the long run if you ever have questions or need assistance with any challenges down the road. Playing scrims sets is also much more valuable than playing ranked flex since you can hide match history against other teams trying to scout you out.

Can you tell us a little about what the college tournament experience and playing on a big-stage was like?

MeNoHaxor: The college tournament experience was extremely fun and engaging. I’ve been playing in the collegiate scene for 5 years (4 in undergrad, 1 in grad), so seeing the scene develop over time to where it is now has been amazing. In the early years, LoL and the collegiate scene did not have as many strong players nor did it have very much prize money, so playing during those times felt more like playing with your friends and having friendly competition. Now that there is significant scholarship prizing and structure, tons of new talent has emerged, so a lot of practice and effort needs to be invested in order to be a top college team.

Playing on the big stage at LCS studio was absolutely surreal. Aftering watching LCS for many years, it feels strange to be playing in the same seats as the players I look up to. Being able to feel the same emotions that they go through every game made me respect them a lot more. I came into the tournament with my 110%, and I don’t have any regrets looking back at my personal performance. Having commentators and peers praise you for your performance is such a great feeling, and the overall experience is a memory that I will treasure for a very long time.

Any last advice or shout outs you’d like to make?

MeNoHaxor: Shoutouts to my teammates/friends from Carnegie Mellon and all of my fans throughout the years. I’ve been very fortunate to have such great people support me, and I definitely plan to continue to be active in the LoL scene.

MeNoHaxor also does various Support Champion commentary videos which can be found on YouTube.