Why Xiaohu Should Be Considered the GOAT Runner-Up After 2022 MSI

After winning his third MSI title against Faker this past month, RNG’s Xiaohu has officially entered the GOAT Runner-Up conversation.

With Xiaohu winning his third MSI title, I think it’s high time that we start talking about his candidacy in regards to being the League of Legends GOAT Runner-up. It is a title that is not quite as sexy or widely debated as its basketball counterpart, chiefly because of the ridiculous dominance of the League of Legends GOAT.

Well Xiaohu beating said GOAT to clinch his second MSI title definitely has to mean something, and while he is nowhere near surpassing Faker as GOAT, we can have quite a heated discussion as to Xiaohu’s claim to be second greatest player of all time.

The Tiger King of Spring

Known for his exceptional play during the first half of the season, Xiaohu is a long-time veteran of the Chinese League of Legends scene. Starting in Gamtee in December 2014, he made a splash as a popoff carry mid laner.

After being acquired by RNG in the following split, he found himself playing second fiddle to the team’s megastar franchise player, bot laner Uzi, who was notorious for his high-resource playstyle. With the untimely retirement of Uzi from RNG due to health reasons, Xiaohu eventually became the de facto leader of the franchise.

Five years into his tenure. the Chinese veteran had grown and refined his playstyle over the years, becoming an adept facilitator as well as a very serious damage threat. RNG has seen much more success under Xiaohu’s selfless leadership compared to Uzi’s, winning two LPL splits and two MSI Championships since the superstar’s departure.

The Mad Dog

Up until this point, if you ask a dedicated League viewer who the second greatest player of all time is, two names will come up. One of them is actually Xiaohu’s old teammate, Uzi.

Arguably the greatest bot laner to ever grace the game, Uzi’s career is marked by his signature “Feed The Puppy” playstyle, where teams would funnel each and every resource into the superstar and have him carry with his dazzling mechanics.

For an incredibly lustrous and tenured career, Uzi only has three championships over almost 20 tries, both domestic and international. Interestingly, all three of them came during RNG’s 2018 run, where they almost completed the Golden Sweep of winning Spring, MSI and Summer before being upset by Perkz and G2 in Worlds Quarterfinals.

While Uzi is definitely a worthy consideration for GOAT Runner-Up, his selfish playstyle has not seen much success throughout the years, as evidenced by his lack of championships. His unwillingness to play around other members of his team reduces his candidacy greatly, especially when considering just how adept Xiaohu is at playing around his win conditions – no matter who they might be.

What’s a King to a God?

Personally, I think there is a name that might even surpass Uzi’s claim to being the second greatest player of all time – and that would be Rookie.

Rookie has had a similar career type to Uzi, but seemingly without any of the downsides that Uzi teams usually experience.

Radiant and cheerful, Rookie has been a dominant mid laner ever since his debut on KT Rolster in 2014, overpowering his opponents through sheer mechanical excellence.

Unlike Uzi, he does not require resources to have an impact, and has maintained that style well into Season 8 and beyond, destroying entire teams by his lonesome in an era where League of Legends has gotten much harder for one player to carry. Ever since winning his first and only World Championship in Season 8, Rookie has been on an absolute tear, clinching his first domestic title soon after in Spring of Season 9.

Forever compared to Faker since his debut, Rookie started turning heads when he arguably overtook the GOAT in the last few years, putting together seasons that far outclassed the Unkillable Demon King. As Faker continued to struggle with roster issues and slumping seasons, Rookie thrived, consistently being a top 2 mid laner in the talent-infested Chinese league.

If Season 3-6 Faker was better than Rookie, Rookie has been better than Faker since Season 8-12. It is even arguable that Rookie was the best mid laner in the world headed into Season 7 World Championship, even though Faker placed higher than him at that fateful tournament.

Though his number of championships will probably never even come close to Faker’s (2 vs.15), it is arguable that Rookie has had more years where he was clearly better than Faker compared to vice versa, which is an unthinkable accomplishment that not even Xiaohu can contend with.

Alas the lack of championships is Rookie’s Achilles Heel, as the superstar is not able to carry over a winning regular season into playoff success. Though he is a King amongst mid laners, it seems that Rookie is forever cursed to be in the shadow of God.

The GOAT Runner-Up

By comparison, Xiaohu is much less flashier. He was outstanding during his latest MSI run, but it was a lot of it was intelligent map movements and great fundamentals as opposed to superstar, jaw-dropping moments that are more reminiscent of Uzi and Rookie. This is what sets him apart – his ability to play the game alongside his teammates and fulfill win conditions, instead of having to only carry the game himself.

For players like Uzi and Rookie, they are not very good at activating their teammates’ strengths, both on and off the Rift. They demand their teammates fold into their worldview, Uzi more than Rookie, and try to win the game that way.

While Xiaohu has demonstrated his mechanical competence throughout his career, he has become more team centric throughout the last few years. His leadership abilities help new players such as Wei and GALA find their footing in big games and his vast game knowledge allow him to even roleswap and still achieve success.

He is a much more well-rounded player, with a skillset that is much more conducive to winning compared to his counterparts.

And at the end of the day, that is the most important thing these players are being judged on – not whether your skillset produces the flashiest montages or the most untouchable statistics, it is rather, how effective you are at winning championships. And as far as I am concerned, the only player historically better than Xiaohu at winning championships is Faker himself…