Preface: Since TheShy and Rookie made their comeback together, IG's match viewership has skyrocketed, with each game easily reaching over ten million live views and tickets selling out instantly. Many IG fans are also hoping for the "all-star lineup" to rise from the Relegation Group and qualify for Worlds. However, as the matches progress, the team's glaring weaknesses have become apparent, especially the issues with support Meiko's teamfight shotcalling, which has left many viewers speechless. Many fans are calling for the management to replace the support.

As a former Grand Slam support in the LPL, Meiko should be very strong individually. However, his recent bizarre actions have left many IG fans speechless. Some fans even believe that if IG wants to qualify for Worlds, they must replace the support. The reason fans are "targeting" Meiko is entirely because his playstyle and shotcalling don't fit the team. For instance, during the match against Weibo, Meiko repeatedly told TheShy not to be impulsive, while the mid-jungle-support trio were commanding TheShy to charge.

This conflict over shotcalling has occurred multiple times in IG's voice comms. In the recent match between IG and LNG, Meiko's various "cowardly" remarks caused many IG fans to break down. During teamfight comms, Meiko repeatedly instructed his teammates to "save me." This kind of "protect the support" command has upset many viewers, as most people believe that a support should initiate fights, land crowd control, and sacrifice themselves. If they can start a good teamfight, dying is acceptable. But Meiko, instead of telling his team to focus fire, told them to rescue him.

Besides the shotcalling issues, Meiko's recent mechanical plays have also drawn criticism. For example, in the first game of IG vs LNG, Meiko, playing Bard, used his ultimate to "reverse CC" his own teammate Rookie's Cassiopeia. Many viewers, during post-match analysis, found that if Meiko hadn't used his ult improperly, Rookie could have survived, as he had high HP, Protobelt, and Flash. After this blunder, Meiko even blamed Rookie in the post-match voice comms, saying Rookie should not have been greedy with his skills and should have flashed away.

IG champion player speaks up for Meiko

Because of Meiko's poor performance, many IG fans are calling for the management to replace the support. In IG's latest 15th anniversary documentary, the screen was filled with "replace the support" bullet comments. Although most outsiders don't approve of Meiko, former IG champion player Ning spoke up for Meiko in a recent stream, saying that Meiko's mechanics are fine. The reason Meiko's reputation is so bad is because viewers are scrutinizing him with a magnifying glass. Ning even wondered why fans hate Meiko so much.

Ning also revealed the reason why IG is unwilling to replace the support. He believes that even if Meiko is not the best support in the LPL, he is still a top-tier gatekeeper. If IG tries to buy another support, they probably wouldn't be interested. In fact, the only supports currently stronger than Meiko in the LPL are BLG's ON and AL's Kael, but both are "non-transferable" and IG definitely can't buy them. Moreover, Meiko has already built synergy with the other IG players. A sudden replacement might have negative effects; for example, after WBG replaced their support erhao, they fell into the Relegation Group and suffered consecutive losses.

Conclusion

Personally, I think even if Meiko's strength isn't recognized by viewers, he is still good enough for the LPL regular season, especially since IG's top laner TheShy has been performing exceptionally well. Of course, the current meta relies on the mid-jungle-support trio. If IG wants to achieve better results, they need to improve their communication. At the very least, the shotcalling shouldn't be chaotic, and there should be no more blunders. What do you think are the chances of IG qualifying for Worlds? Is IG's support Meiko really a "hidden danger" for the team?