Hanwha Life Esports bot laner Lee ‘Gumayusi’ Min-hyeong has voiced his displeasure with the current Mage Bot meta that has transformed the nature of the bot lane in League of Legends.
The 2025 League of Legends Worlds Grand Final MVP made the comments in a recent livestream, where he reflected on the shifting lane role.
The comments came as Gumayusi reflected on the work he was putting in to get up to speed with the current Mage Bot Lane meta, notably practising Xerath with KT Rolster Mid Laner, Gwak ‘Bdd’ Bo-sung.
Guma stated, “As for my thoughts on off-meta bot picks, of course it’s true that I have to prepare for them and adapt if that’s where the game is heading. But speaking as a League player, I’ve always felt that choosing a role is almost like choosing a class in another game.
“Every role has something people want from it. If you play top, there are things you expect from top. If you play mid, there are things you expect from mid. And if you choose ADC, there’s a reason you chose ADC.”
He reflected on the nature of choosing a role, and the inherent preferences that choosing a role provides, stating, “What do I want from ADC? I want to play auto-attack-based champions. Champions that rely on basic attacks—AD, attack speed, crit—that’s why I became an ADC player. Then I come to play that role, and mages just beat me up?”
However, the meta is ultimately forcing Bot Laners away from ADC champions, with Guma reflecting, “Cassiopeia can outfight Draven. Ziggs and Xerath have longer range than Caitlyn. They have good wave clear, crowd control, and high damage; they don’t let me do anything.”
“I came wanting to play ADCs, but now I’m being told to play Swain. How do you think that feels? It doesn’t feel good. Do you think I’d want to play Swain? I don’t. I picked ADC because I wanted to play marksmen, but instead the mages are causing me trouble.
“I think picks like Ziggs can exist as niche counterpicks. Vayne is similar to some extent. But they shouldn’t become the meta. Not every champion should turn into an off-meta bot laner.”
Will Riot intervene?
The Bot Mage meta has totally transformed the dynamics of League of Legends, altering the role of the Bot Lane player and vastly changing the on-meta champion pool.
Dissatisfaction with that upheaval is not limited to pro players, with traditional ADC players voicing their agreement with Gumayusi’s statements regarding why they play in the Bot lane.
Professional and player sentiment has raised questions over whether Riot will intervene to shift the meta, and if so, when?
Cynical members of the community have pointed to a change just before Worlds 2026 as the likely time for a patch, which would effectively render the practice Bot Laners are putting into mages as largely competitively pointless.
However, whether that patch will come bears reflection on what form the patch could even take. Some have called for role and lane restrictions on certain Champions, whereas others have reflected that the blending of different champions with different lanes and roles is simply a natural process, long since accepted in Dota 2 as normal.
Therefore, it is not entirely clear whether Riot would intervene to formalise roles, or whether nerfs would be effective in returning the game to the status quo.
What do you think of the current Bot Mage meta? Share your experiences with us on the Insider Gaming Discord.
In other news, see what happened at Karmine Corp’s LEC Roadshow. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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