LoL - LPL: "You’ve got to let people rest in order to perform well on stage," Meiko on his break

Tian "Meiko" Ye will be taking a competitive break at the start of 2026. At 27, the Chinese support held a stream where he discussed his decision with his chat, explaining his need to rest in order to return to a high level of competition. In 2025, Meiko played for Invictus Gaming, reaching the Worlds Play-In stage before falling to T1.

The issue of player health and accumulated fatigue is becoming increasingly prominent. A similar case is Chinese AD Carry Yu "JackeyLove" Wen-Bo, who also announced he was considering taking a break at the end of the competitive year due to health concerns. Several players and teams have faced completely grueling schedules throughout the year.

As a reminder, in 2026 the LPL could implement a bidding system in which players would no longer choose their teams. Instead, they would be subject to bids, with the highest bidder securing a player’s services. This would represent a major upheaval in the League of Legends ecosystem, as the world’s second-largest league takes such a drastic step.

Meiko is a true legend of the League of Legends Professional League (LPL). He joined EDward Gaming in 2015 and immediately claimed his first two titles: the Spring Split and the very first Mid-Season Invitational, defeating SKT T1 in the final. He also participated in his first Worlds shortly afterward.

He went on to play in the next three editions of Worlds and secured two additional LPL split titles. 2019 and 2020 were challenging years for the Chinese support, with a 10th-place finish in the Summer Split, but this set the stage for a remarkable comeback the following year.

In Summer 2021, Meiko became LPL champion again, and EDG went on to win the Worlds in Reykjavik, marking his seventh year with the team—a true legend. He stayed with EDG until 2023, although the team could not replicate their previous success. In addition, he won the 2018 Asian Games, defeating South Korea in the grand final.

Afterward, Meiko spent a year with Top Esports before joining Invictus Gaming. At IG, he reunited with the jungler Zhao "Jiejie" Li-Jie, with whom he had reached the pinnacle of his career. Alongside Chen "GALA" Wei, they formed one of the best botlanes in the LPL. The team finished fourth and qualified for the Play-In stage at Worlds, losing to South Korea’s fourth seed, T1, who would lift their sixth Worlds trophy just weeks later—their third consecutive title.