Midlane Masterclass: Featuring Ohio State’s 5fire

In a new series debuting for DivisionONE, we interview players who are dominating their roles and attempt to peek behind the curtain. For the first installment, we met with Ohio State University (OSU) League of Legends’ ferocious mid laner, Aidan ‘5fire’ Reckamp.

Reckamp is the driving force behind Ohio State’s surge this Spring, and his background in the game runs deep. His monstrous peak on the ranked ladder, 1321 LP, to be exact, placed him in the highest echelons of League of Legends competition in early 2020. He competed on a variety of teams at the professional level including stints with premier organizations such as Counter Logic Gaming and Evil Geniuses Academy in the LCS Scouting Grounds, a developmental league for the elite League of Legends circuit in North America. Since then, he has transitioned into coaching on the side – sometimes taking on up to 10 clients at once – and continues to preach about how playing League of Legends isn’t work to him, but instead continues to be the game he loves. While at OSU, he has shaped their DivisionONE squad into a top contender for the Spring Split, toppling St. Clair earlier in the season with their eyes on a greater prize moving forward.

Here’s the best bits from our time with OSU’s mid lane magician.

What’s your favorite champion?

“My favorite champion right now is Zoe, she feels like she has a lot of agency in the game and is very fun. It used to be Sylas, but he has a tough matchup into the current meta mids, so Zoe is my go-to for now.”

What got you interested in the mid lane?

“I technically started playing in 2010 or the start of season one, but I rejoined in season five when my friends started playing. I don’t know what drew me to mid specifically, but the characters I like playing just so happened to be mid lane champions. Akali and Katarina, to be exact, so I just picked up mid. I just play where my favorite champion belongs, so for a while I was a bot lane player on lethality (build) Jhin too.”

How can other players find their best lane?

“The number one thing is the character you're playing. Certain things from other games can correlate to certain lanes: like supporting on support, or playing solo in top lane. But you definitely gotta feel it out.”

What champions do you recommend for learning mid lane?

“The most important thing is to play what you enjoy. Partly because it’s a game, but playing more leads to learning more which leads to watching videos after the game which leads to improving quickly. Playing Annie might make learning the game easier, but if you play Annie and hate it, it doesn’t matter.”

“If I had to suggest easier champions, I’d go with Malzahar, Yasuo, or Zed. Don’t try to pick up Azir or Ryze off rip.”

What’s the most important thing for mids to remember?

“The main thing about the lane is that you’re in the middle of it all. You can facilitate action around the map, since lots of things have to go through mid. You can move to any play, so in the back of your mind – be ready to move.”

How do you farm effectively in mid lane?

“Rule Zero: Have a good matchup. If I’m playing Sylas and playing against a mage, I’m expecting to go down 5-15 creep score (CS). Rule One: Improve last hitting, I had a friend that would sit in a custom for 10 minutes before every ranked session and practice last hitting the minions. It’s worth the effort. Rule Two: Don’t waste time. People will sit in lane and not hit, but because mid lane is so short, you can ward or recall in all of that downtime. Maximize your opportunities for success.”

Who should mid lane players watch to improve?

“If you’re serious about improving, and already have a solid knowledge base (for example, Platinum-Master in rank), you should find Twitch or YouTube streamers that are high ranked with a low viewer count, and ask them questions. This is a gold mine. Think of it as walking up to an NFL player, while they’re at practice, and asking them for tips. I give this advice to all my coaching prospects. You can also find great coaching content online for free, as long as you’re willing to dig for it.”

What is one mid lane tip that you can’t stress enough?

“I think what you need to understand is the fundamental aspect of mid: you need recall priority. As a facilitator, you need to have your opponent pushed in so you can move. When our team at Ohio State asks who wins the mid lane matchup in a pregame meeting, it’s not about kills. It’s about who gets the pushing lane, and by extension, first priority around the map.”

What champions do you recommend for climbing in mid lane?

“Climbing in any ranked game is about the numbers. 35% of games are automatically won, regardless of how well or how poorly you played. Similarly, 35% of games are going to be virtually unwinnable, no matter the amount of effort you put in. The final 30% is what separates people into the ranks, the ones that you have impact over. There are certainly some champions that are “better” in solo queue, mostly assassins since they can play for themselves. You must find one or two champions that you can take over the game, controlling the 30% in the balance. The very best of the best players are the ones who can sneak away an additional 5-10% win rate on top of that baseline.”

“My best recommendation is champions who can win lane and scale, so you’ll never be obsolete – even if your team is behind. Think Zoe, Orianna, Yone, and Sylas.”

Are you flash to kill or flash to save first? Does it vary by champion?

“Definitely a flash to kill kind of player. I am usually more than happy to trade one for one. Technically it should vary by champion, but I’m just an aggressive player. You have to make your opponent feel pressured, don’t let them get stuff for free.”

What champions do pro mids need to have down?

“Honestly, back in the day it was really tough to say, since mages were bad. It was hard to practice them in solo queue on the ranked ladder. Nowadays, in Division ONE, the mids can’t play Azir, so it’s great that I can comfortably pilot him.

The best options would have to be Azir, Orianna, and Taliyah. They’ve been good forever at the top level and they’re super consistent both in lane and in late game.”

Who is the best professional mid laner right now? What makes them so great?

“It’s probably Jeong ‘Chovy’ Ji-hoon from Gen.G in Korea. T1’s Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-Hyeok has insane intangibles, but since he doesn’t individually bully other mids in lane like Chovy, he takes the crown in my book. If you’re looking for off-brand or wacky champion picks, DPlus KIA’s Heo ‘ShowMaker’ Su has that and Hanwha Life Esports’s Kim ‘Zeka’ Geon-woo does better on assassins like Akali and Sylas.”

Advice for kids looking to make it as a LoL mid laner? Trying to make it in collegiate esports?

“All I can tell you is to do your best. This game is really big, really hard, and there’s a million things to improve on and learn. Find what motivates you, have some thought behind your own ideas, and have fun.”

“If you enjoy the game, you will continue to play.”

If you’re interested in watching 5fire and the rest of the Buckeyes squad, they will be playing their Spring season finale on Sunday, March 8th against struggling West Virginia University. It won’t take long to see that he practices what he preaches, as he boasts a top-10 CS per minute in DivisionONE – third amongst mid laners.