On the morning of September 23rd (Vietnam time), Tyler1 – one of the most notorious toxic streamers in the League of Legends community – achieved Challenger rank on the North American server. Notably, Tyler1 accomplished this feat in his preferred position of mid lane, having played midlaner in 60% of his matches and boasting an impressive win rate of 83%. In his secondary position, which Tyler1 also frequently plays, is top lane (20%) where he holds a 100% win rate.
Although it is known that the North American server is often ranked below the Korean server and to some extent the Chinese region, Tyler1’s achievement is still very impressive. The champions that the streamer from T1 excels with include Annie (156 matches – 64% win rate), Fizz (84 matches – 51% win rate), and Irelia (67 matches – 73% win rate).
After reaching this high rank, Tyler1 made some surprising statements that might rub gamers, or even professional mid laners, the wrong way. The “Toxic God” candidly remarked:
“Now I’ve reached Challenger in all 4 lanes and the only position left is Support. If I had to compare, mid lane is easier than top lane. Mid lane is almost a joke, whereas top lane is crazy, much crazier. The ‘m’ in midlane probably stands for Mickey Mouse. It’s really easy, while top lane is much harder. If you’re in midlane and you meet someone better, you can just leave, roam, and farm other lanes. In top lane, if you get counter-picked, you’re done; once you die, there’s no creeps left for you. Mid lane allows you to roam, farm, and go to all lanes… very easily. Meanwhile, top lane is definitely harder than mid lane, both in terms of players, champions, and positioning.”
Tyler1’s remarks might be somewhat biased towards personal opinion, but for someone who has gone through hundreds of ranked matches to reach Challenger in both mid and top positions like him, these comments are certainly worth considering. While many current teams see mid lane as a position that gathers players capable of single-handedly shifting the game’s outcome, such as key players (like Faker, Doinb, ShowMaker), in top lane, losing the lane can often mean an inability to recover. Particularly, teams like FunPlus Phoenix and DWG KIA, which often play around the top side, understand the importance of the top lane position, especially when Nuguri (FPX) or Khan (DK) are exploited, leading to significant disadvantages against opponents and causing their teams to struggle or collapse.
Also during the stream after achieving the Challenger rank, Tyler1 suggested that Riot should choose him as the face of the company, as he became one of the few players to reach the Challenger threshold in 4 out of 5 positions in a League of Legends team. And indeed, responding to the streamer’s “request”, this morning, the official League of Legends Twitter page changed its profile picture to one of Tyler1 alongside his main champion, Annie, as a recognition of an achievement that may not be repeated for a long time.
