"The mid-lane LeBlanc versus Syndra matchup… the last time I remember seeing it was last season. Mainly because Syndra got hit so hard by those two nerfs. Now her mana got adjusted back, but the cooldown on her E skill is still too long. Personally, I feel Syndra is still under a lot of pressure against LeBlanc." Miller adjusted his glasses as he analyzed.
LeBlanc's W has an 18-second cooldown, and Syndra's E also happens to be 18 seconds.
The difference is that LeBlanc maxes W, while Syndra maxes Q.
As levels go up, it becomes harder and harder to stop LeBlanc from closing the gap.
"But how it actually plays out still depends on how the players handle the matchup in-game." Wawa didn't speak too definitively, staying true to his usual balanced commentary style.
Gugu laughed. "That's why this match is so exciting. On one side is Rookie's LeBlanc, on the other is Infinite Borders Bro's signature Syndra.
This game, Rookie and Infinite Borders Bro are going straight at each other—pure laning showdown."
Both coaches walked to center stage and shook hands amicably.
Nofe looked at Luo Sheng and saw a smile plastered across his face, which immediately made him uncomfortable.
Overall, aside from mid and jungle, the top and bottom lane picks weren't ideal—especially bot lane. Lucian–Nami no longer had the overwhelming dominance it had back in Season 11.
Their level-one combat power was extremely weak, while Nautilus and Kalista were at their strongest at level one.
If a hook landed, Flash would definitely be forced.
Bot lane pressure was enormous.
In truth, Luo Sheng wasn't fully confident either. After all, V5 was on a ten-game winning streak.
If the game dragged into mid-to-late game, V5's teamfighting would be very strong.
With Gwen alone, they could easily disrupt formations.
After a brief loading screen, the match officially began.
Against LeBlanc, Lin Fan didn't start with a Doran's Ring like before. Instead, he chose Corrupting Potion.
He then immediately controlled Syndra toward mid lane.
As soon as he arrived, he saw Rookie's LeBlanc.
First, he checked the opponent's items—nothing special. Corrupting Potion as well.
Because mid laners often needed to split-push and play around teamfights later, Ignite was rarely taken unless they truly wanted a solo kill. Teleport was the usual choice.
Rookie had taken Teleport.
Without Ignite's extra damage, solo kills became harder, so Corrupting Potion was mainly for farming safely and looking for later opportunities.
LeBlanc's playstyle was extremely distinctive.
Her Q's second proc combined with Electrocute meant an absurdly high execute threshold.
Add her extreme mobility, and countless squishy champions trembled at her presence.
One misstep meant instant death—this was LeBlanc's terror.
And the one piloting her was Rookie—a man with a Worlds skin buff.
TL: Imaginary confidence buff cause he won Worlds before.
"Mid lane feels a bit rough. I need to play slightly safer."
"That's just Rookie's LeBlanc. We'll look for chances later. It's fine." JackeyLove immediately replied, shifting his camera toward mid.
"Damn it—this is what you call 'hard to play'?"
Watching Syndra walk past the minion wave to harass, JackeyLove understood this was Lin Fan's usual style: play aggressively while telling everyone to stay calm.
But at level one, LeBlanc truly couldn't contest Syndra.
LeBlanc's W had an 18-second cooldown, while Syndra's Q was only four seconds. There was no contest.
As the minion wave met, Lin Fan began pressing forward.
Rookie initially wanted to bait out a Q and then W back, but Lin Fan held his skills the entire time.
Instead, Rookie took heavy minion damage, couldn't sustain it, backed off—and then ate Syndra's Q–auto, proccing Electrocute.
The trade was disastrous.
With W burned, LeBlanc could only stand behind the caster minions.
Syndra also had a range advantage.
LeBlanc's auto range was 525, while Syndra's was 550.
Lin Fan stepped up to auto. Rookie instinctively retreated.
Another Dark Sphere appeared behind him.
Dodge the auto, eat the skill—or vice versa.
Either way, it hurt.
Unable to trade back and with W still on cooldown, Rookie could only drink a potion.
"Infinite Borders Bro's pressure is maxed out. I'm under huge pressure."
"You don't have levels yet—hard to play, right?" Karsa tried to ease him.
"LeBlanc without levels struggles against Syndra, but his trading details are really good."
"Is he really that strong?"
"Yeah."
"Should I come gank later?"
Rookie thought for a moment.
"If he keeps pushing, you can try."
…
"Come on, Old Song. Today's interview is with Xiaoyu—you've got to grab a couple MVPs."
If LeBlanc ever gained an advantage, Syndra would become a toy—instantly deleted.
But the reverse was also true.
LeBlanc would never build Mercury's Treads. Even Xiaohu wouldn't.
If you were going to build MR boots, why not just pick Ryze?
Ryze could go full tank, survive teamfights, and still deal solid damage.
Without MR boots, LeBlanc couldn't survive Syndra's full combo—often dying before even triggering her passive clone.
After the trade, Lin Fan immediately disengaged, giving Rookie no chance to recover health.
Because his autos drew minion aggro, the red melee minions were pulled into his own wave.
The minion lines were no longer evenly split.
This meant red minions would clear faster.
Rookie immediately understood Lin Fan's intent and refused to follow his rhythm.
He pushed forward with LeBlanc. With W back up, one step could shove the wave and poke.
Even if he ate a Q, it wouldn't be a loss.
Seeing LeBlanc step up, Lin Fan immediately walked forward.
So you finally couldn't hold it in anymore?
Early mage damage mainly came from autos. Level-one skills alone weren't enough—more autos meant kill pressure.
Rookie frowned as his HP dropped again.
He raised his staff to auto back—then lowered it.
Syndra instantly turned away after autoing, exiting LeBlanc's range.
The difference was tiny—but decisive.
He got kited.
Another Dark Sphere lit up under his feet.
Even with quick reactions and W cast, Rookie still got hit by the nearly instant Dark Sphere.
He did land the W on Syndra, so the trade looked okay on the surface.
But staying meant taking more minion damage, so Rookie activated W2 to return.
At that moment, Syndra didn't retreat—she advanced, walking toward LeBlanc's return mark.
The intent was obvious.
Even after returning, LeBlanc would eat autos—and Syndra's Q was about to come back up.
Rookie stayed decisive. He didn't linger or try to reposition.
But he still ate an auto on the way back, proccing Electrocute.
LeBlanc's HP dropped to just over four bars.
After returning, another auto plus Corrupting Potion burn ticked her health even lower.
Rookie retreated, but Syndra kept chasing.
Even inside blue minion range, with only three caster minions left, Lin Fan remained relentlessly aggressive.
This didn't feel right anymore.
Was he… trying to solo kill me?
The thought startled Rookie.
But looking at his HP, it seemed possible.
Bang!
Syndra's Q landed again, triggering LeBlanc's passive Mirror Image.
Rookie checked his HP—179.
He wasn't arrogant enough to think he could outplay with passive alone.
If the real body was found, two autos plus Q–Flash would be enough.
He couldn't gamble.
A level-one death would doom mid lane.
"What a pity."
The veteran stayed calm. Another mid laner would've hesitated before flashing.
One more auto or two, and a solo kill was possible.
But this exchange was already hugely profitable.
He chased LeBlanc from start to finish, remained healthy, and didn't need to recall.
Mid lane advantage was secured.
"Why is their Syndra so insane?" Karsa was stunned. Rookie hadn't done anything reckless.
Both times, W was used—and both times he got punished brutally.
"No wonder Dine crushes so many mids with this champion."
"Yeah, we underestimated him. I shouldn't have stepped up at all—just let him manage the wave." Rookie smiled bitterly and teleported back to lane.
He had zero gold. Couldn't buy anything.
"My god—Infinite Borders Bro's pressure is as outrageous as ever. This is the most aggressive Syndra I've ever seen. His level-one laning is maxed out."
"It's only two and a half minutes, and Rookie has already lost both summoners. That's massive."
"With Ignite, that might've been a kill."
"With Ignite, flashing forward to finish it could really work."
"Yeah…" Miller nodded in agreement.
Ignite really could've secured the solo kill.
"Infinite Borders Bro dares to fight at level one. He's currently the fastest mid laner to secure early kills. Other teams really need to study his Syndra and see how he expands early advantages."
"My advice stays the same—never let him get Syndra unless you've already accepted the consequences."
…
Gugu sighed. "Infinite Borders Bro is really strong."
Wawa rubbed his nose. "V5 is in trouble now. Rookie wasn't killed, but losing both summoners on LeBlanc—who relies on early and mid game—this lane is basically doomed."
"Exactly. Once Syndra pushes the wave and roams, LeBlanc can only sit mid with no options. Karsa really needs to come later and force out Infinite Borders Bro's Flash, or it'll be hard to deal with."
…
"Old Song, don't feel pressured. I'll come soon." Karsa pinged.
"No, don't come. He's still pushing under tower and hasn't even warded. I think Lee Sin is waiting behind him. If you come and we fight, that's just feeding." Rookie said quickly.
If Jarvan EQed in and Lee Sin appeared from fog, should he commit or not?
Too many problems.
Better to farm under tower and get through this difficult phase.
Unfortunately, Lee Sin wasn't behind Syndra—he was elsewhere.
At Lin Fan's suggestion, Lee Sin had already moved top and was waiting in the river.
Gwen versus Gnar—Gnar was under heavy pressure.
Gnar's attack range scaled with levels. Early on, it was short, making him vulnerable to Gwen's E engage and chase.
Rich played aggressively—but that gave Tian his chance.
Once past midline, Lee Sin emerged, cutting off Gwen's escape.
Rich was stunned.
Why was Lee Sin top?
There was no time to think.
He activated Ghost, trying to fight back.
Gnar transformed, slammed Gwen with a heavy hammer, stunning her.
Tian calmly followed up, landed Q, and the second Q finished off the remaining HP.
First Blood.
The first kill of the game.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup