Clearlove: here's how he became a man of few words and many ganks.
EDG’s Clearlove is one of the most talented junglers ever to play League of Legends. Here are 32 interesting facts you need to know about the 24-year-old esports star:
1. Clearlove’s real name is Ming Cai, and his previous in-game names were Troll, Mann, and Clearlove7.
2. He was born in Shanghai, China in July 1993 making him 25 years old.
3. Before starting his League of Legends career, he played other, lesser-known Chinese MOBAs like Xin Zhang De Ye Wang.
4. During season 1 he was the #1 ranked player on the Chinese server, a feat which earned him a great deal of attention from scouts.
5. He began his professional League of Legends journey playing for Team Phoenix in early 2012.
6. Surprisingly, he began his career as a midlaner before switching to jungle.
7. Team WE noticed his talent right away, and they picked him up in the summer of 2012.
8. Clearlove decided he could apply his skills better as a jungler for Team WE, and he quickly adapted to his new role.
9. His skills would be put to the test almost immediately when Team WE went to the Season 2 World Championship as the first seed from China.
10. Due to their recent roster changes they had very little time to prepare and practice with their new lineup.
11. They ended their season with a disappointing loss to CLG EU in the quarterfinals. Clearlove knew he would have to step up his game and develop more synergy with his team in order to be successful.
12. After honing their skills against international competition in the offseason, Clearlove and Team WE were ready to dominate the China in season 3.
13. They started the season by going for six straight months without losing a series; much of their success was due to Clearlove’s farm-heavy jungling and synergy with midlaner Misaya.
14. However, things soon started to unravel over the summer due to meta changes and internal discord within the team.
15. Clearlove knew that in order to keep his professional career going, he would have to switch to a more successful team. Were it not for his decision to leave Team WE, he might not have made it to where he is today.
16. Clearlove had won 11 tournaments during his time on Team WE, so leaving was a tough decision for him.
17. EDG knew a great opportunity when they saw one and aggressively pursued a contract with the star jungler.
18. Clearlove had been friends with Koro1 and knew his playstyle, so he recommended that EDG pick him up as their toplaner for the 2014 season.
19. It was around this time that Clearlove decided to take on the role of secondary shotcaller.
20. It was also around this time that he started to receive a great deal of negative attention from the community.
21. Fans were disappointed that he had departed from Team WE along with his teammate Fzzf.
22. Clearlove knew he couldn’t let the haters affect his play. During his streams he would remain silent and focus on improving his gameplay.
23. EDG had a relatively successful season and they placed second in the LPL Spring.
24. In the meantime, Clearlove was adapting and perfecting his hybrid farming jungle style.
25. His patience and practice payed off in the summer when EDG managed to take first place in the LPL. But things were about to take a turn for the worse.
26. At 2014 worlds the pressure finally started to take its toll on Clearlove.
27. During EDG’s match against SSW he succumbed to nerves and could hardly collect himself.
28. With help from his teammate Fzzf between matches he managed to regain some of his composure, but EDG was sent home after a loss to Star Horn Royal Club.
29. Before the start of the 2015 season, coach Aaron took Clearlove aside and told him that he would have to step up and carry his team.
30. Clearlove took this advice to heart. He once again proved his adaptability by picking up a more aggressive style in the jungle.
31. This allowed him to lead EDG to another LPL victory.
32. Despite lukewarm performances in 2016 and 2017, Clearlove might still have some tricks up his sleeve.
Clearlove’s incredible journey is not over yet. Despite rumors that he might retire, he continues to play at a high level and is still among the best League players in the world. Either way, he as earned his spot as one of China’s—and the world’s—legendary junglers.
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