Both coaches walked to the center of the stage and shook hands, and the game entered the loading screen.
"Brother Infinite Borders did everything he could on Syndra in Game 1. JackeyLove eating Qs probably made even Brother Infinite Borders depressed. But that's JackeyLove's only flaw—everything else is what an ADC should be: bold, willing to fight. It's like he's cursed. If he can break this 'eating-Q curse,' he'll be heavy artillery."
"Pretty good. Syndra got the first win of his mid-lane career in league play, then Syndra took the first loss—feels like it means something. If we go full mysticism, TES is probably winning Worlds this year. A team that has a beginning and an end will accomplish great things."
"Heh. After today's match, TES will begin their losing streak, and Brother Infinite Borders will get 'dragged under' by the water ghosts!"
"If mid doesn't train all day, it affects the other players' form too. How could TES possibly lose Game 1? Mid got an advantage and still didn't help bot relieve pressure."
"? Are the water ghosts brain-dead? A 9–2 hard-carry is getting tortured by you guys? Absurd."
"Honestly, if TES doesn't want him, I'm sure the other 16 LPL teams would be interested. Maybe even NA is already making moves."
"Game 1, I don't think swapping the ADC changes much. Better to find someone steady—like Huanfeng, the kind who tucks in and doesn't int. As long as he doesn't feed, Brother Infinite Borders can still carry the team to wins."
The chat kept bickering, and as Game 3 started, the tempo of the argument inexplicably got bigger again.
That was normal—once a game is lost, it's easy for people with an agenda to stir up a huge wave.
Plenty of people saw it too. In their eyes, Lin Fan was the kind of mid laner who didn't train and barely played ranked. If you're eating this bowl of rice and still don't grind, that's an "unprofessional" mid.
Back in Spring Split, there were even "water ghosts" who raided Lin Fan's stream. The two fan groups had old grudges, just waiting for a spark.
On TES's player side.
"Tian, later you take a longer route and come gank. You're on Viego this game—LNG will still ward the same spots from Games 1 and 2. As long as Doinb doesn't see you, he won't be as cautious. I'll stun him, then we two-one-shot him."
"Okay. This time we have to kill him," Tian nodded.
Ever since they knew they were facing LNG, Tian had wanted to hard-camp Doinb.
Just like in Spring Split—tilt him into nonsense. Today they hadn't gotten the chance and he'd slipped by.
Lin Fan bought his items and walked out, controlling Syndra to stand by the brush near raptors, blocking the entrance to guard against an invade.
But both comps had limited level-one CC. Overall, TES had more advantage—after all, with Yuumi attached, if LNG got bubbled by Nami, they'd be in trouble.
So both sides stayed peaceful and returned to lane.
Lin Fan piloted Syndra aggressively from level one, forcing pressure.
Doinb wiggled back and forth trying to dodge Syndra's Q, then raised his hand and threw a W back—unfortunately he still got hit, then ate an auto-attack chase.
Without thinking, Doinb immediately backed off with Ryze.
Lin Fan glanced at minion damage and chased forward, continuing to auto. The slow meant he only got a couple hits, but at max range he still landed his Q again as it came off cooldown.
From start to finish, Doinb only landed one W and one auto.
Everything else was minion damage.
Ryze lost nearly half his HP in a smooth, clean trade.
"Shit… Brother Infinite Borders is so strong," Doinb muttered, retreating and chugging a potion.
He also glanced at the minimap.
On the familiar ward spot, he didn't see Viego.
Looks like the first two games didn't find a gank, so they weren't doing it again.
In that case, he just needed to wait for the wave to come in.
Viego's clear speed was fast.
Tian had already finished red buff and hit level two, looping from bottom to top.
On LNG's backstage view, the coach's face turned heavy as he watched Tian's movement.
This time he didn't gank immediately after clearing.
He took a huge detour—easy to create the illusion that Viego went to blue.
The most lethal thing in pro play was the information gap!
Doinb might be in huge trouble here.
Especially as Syndra shoved the wave to the angle in front of the tower.
Right as the wave was about to crash, Syndra's positioning shifted downward—clearly "afraid" of being ganked as the wave entered tower.
Acting.
Doinb was delighted, ready to last-hit safely as the wave came under tower and slowly farm up.
Maybe once levels came, he could even coordinate with jungle to kill Syndra—she was playing so aggressively.
At that moment, Tian's Viego had already crept into the corner.
Charging W!
Doinb had zero awareness of the danger.
He just stared at Syndra, trying not to get chunked further.
Viego Flash-W stunned Ryze.
Doinb's expression turned instantly horrified.
Why is Viego here?!
Before he could even process it, Syndra's Q–E combo landed, chaining CC.
Ryze couldn't move again, and his HP plunged—blink and he was under one-third.
Even when the CC ended and he burned Flash, it was too late.
Under tower, Tian forced another hit with red buff slow, drew tower aggro, and started backing out. Lin Fan Flash-followed and kept autoing.
One hit, two hits—under red buff slow, he even tanked a tower shot just to land a second Q at the edge!
With no abilities left, Doinb could only watch Ryze "walk into" Syndra's Q.
First Blood.
"One big detour into a surprise mid gank. Ryze gets stunned out of nowhere—Doinb never expected that."
"TES mid-jungle used two Flashes, but Doinb used his too. Jungle-for-mid is acceptable. They forcibly built a mid-lane advantage for Brother Infinite Borders. With First Blood secured, mid lane pressure will be huge. That's a painful one for Doinb."
…
Tarzan glanced top.
Sion was obediently standing behind the wave, fully committing to the 'don't die, be a tank in teamfights' job description.
Diving Sion early would be brainless.
But… TES jungle didn't take blue. Could he counter-invade, then maybe check top for a gank?
Tarzan thought for a moment and piloted Lee Sin into TES's jungle.
Too bad Lin Fan had already anticipated it.
He used Teleport down and immediately moved toward blue buff, catching Lee Sin—and Sion also started moving that way.
Ale could only ping from top. Tarzan checked timing.
Viego would definitely be coming too. If he lingered, he'd collapse.
So he abandoned the invade.
Especially since Doinb was freezing the wave in front of tower—if he didn't catch it, it would crash and he'd lose a ton.
"Zoom is so team-oriented. This move might cost him some CS, but protecting Tian's blue is great," Wawa and 957 sighed.
But thinking about it, top was a tool role—if it preserved team advantage, then it did its job.
"What is Tian doing? What is Tian doing?!" Wawa suddenly shouted twice, drawing everyone's attention.
On the big screen, Viego Smited blue buff down to around a hundred HP.
Syndra picked it up, slammed it down, and finished it with a Q.
"Again… looks like Brother Infinite Borders is really going to carry this one!"
When Doinb pushed the wave out and saw Syndra glowing with blue buff, his vision went dark.
I love you guys so much!
Tian is playing dirty now, huh?
But Syndra has no Flash—she won't pressure me like crazy, right?
Except the moment the wave met, Syndra stepped forward and started tossing Qs.
Doinb focused hard, stepping down to dodge the Dark Sphere.
Pressure eased slightly, and he prepared to retaliate with a Q–E–W–Q combo, to show Lin Fan he wasn't soft.
Then he could use passive and Phase Rush to create distance.
But he didn't expect Syndra to auto him once, then pick up a sphere with W and slam it into him—while E shoved it through.
He was immobilized, ate another auto, and as he tried to fight back, Syndra had already backed off.
He turned to disengage—then Syndra turned back and tossed a second Q.
Boom!
The Dark Sphere hit with a heavy thud.
Ryze's HP dropped visibly, chunked down another bar.
After that trade, Doinb was around half HP, frowning at his health.
He was getting kited to death.
First Strike Syndra… plus the item damage was too high!
And Syndra had no Flash—yet she was still fearless?
Shit—if Tarzan were nearby and I landed an E–W root, you'd just die. How is she this bold?
But looking at his HP and Syndra's forward positioning, he panicked.
Run!
If he got caught again, he'd die again. Worse—Teleport was already used. If Brother Infinite Borders froze the wave, when he returned he'd be level 3 into level 5. How the hell do you play like that? He absolutely couldn't die again.
Tarzan originally wanted to hover mid, but seeing Ryze retreat, he knew there was no play.
He looked top and decided to countergank there—at least ensure Ale's development.
Then comms lit up—
Viego is bot!
Mark walked at the front. A Nami bubble straight at Zeri forced Light's Flash.
It couldn't be helped. Jungle was top; if you don't Flash, you get bubbled and you die.
And if you die, it's a double kill. If Lucian gets fed, you can't withstand it.
So Light burned Flash. Without Flash, he didn't dare stay under tower to take the huge wave. He recalled for a reset.
Overall, Tian's bot gank was huge—Light lost Flash and missed a massive wave, while JackeyLove got solo turret plates. It felt amazing.
And the reason Mark and Tian didn't stay was because they were heading mid!
Lin Fan had stacked a huge wave for a tower dive and forced kill!
Doinb glanced bot and immediately sensed something was wrong.
The wave was about to crash and he had no Flash…
If they dive, do I take the wave or not?
Shit!
"Tarzan, hurry mid and cover me!"
Tarzan had already anticipated it and was moving mid.
But when he stepped out at the raptor entrance, TES had already spotted him.
Normally, you don't risk a dive when you see the enemy jungler.
But under Lin Fan's command, they did it anyway.
Mark Flash-bubbled.
Doinb had no answer.
There were Dark Spheres on the ground too, waiting like hungry tigers.
No matter where he walked, he'd eat CC—plus without Flash, he couldn't escape.
He got bubbled under tower.
Lin Fan immediately followed with Q–E, pumping damage and taking tower aggro. Syndra's range was longer—no way Tian should tank tower.
Under the three-man burst, Doinb's screen turned gray.
And the kill was finished by Syndra's W slam!
Tarzan evaluated the situation and silently looped back under his own tower.
He knew if he walked up, the second victim would be him.
Lin Fan happily took another turret plate. Even if he split it with Viego, it didn't matter.
Syndra was picked to create a teamfight environment for Tian to clean up.
The better Tian's items, the easier teamfights became.
The TES fans in the arena jumped up, screaming.
This early-game tempo was the TES tempo they knew.
"Hahaha, feels like another stomp game."
"Tian finally isn't lost. If he ganked mid like this earlier, wouldn't we have been fine?"
"Doinb defended so well the first two games. Why is he lost in Game 3? Suddenly can't play?"
To viewers, it looked like Doinb was just stupid and couldn't hold lane.
But in reality, he got fooled by his own warding—wrongly believing Tian wouldn't gank.
After all, Viego's mainstream style was to farm.
Yet TES chained a combo: bot play into mid play, tempo link-up at max efficiency.
Doinb watched Lee Sin last-hit minions, silent. He opened shop and bought a little yellow book—broke as hell, that's him.
Then he looked at the two-kill Syndra and pressed his lips together.
At level three, that QAWEA combo already took 400+ HP. Next time he walked up, he'd probably get deleted by ult.
Lin Fan cleared another wave, recalled, and upgraded into Blasting Wand, plus another little yellow book—pure extreme violence.
When he returned, Doinb had just shoved the wave, and Ryze disappeared from mid toward top side.
He wanted to force a play and build a huge advantage for top.
Because Syndra's pressure was too suffocating.
LNG needed a strong point to support their early-game fight.
But TES had already prepared. River vision was set.
The moment Zoom saw it, he backed off.
Ryze wasn't level six yet, so he couldn't 'drive' Lee Sin behind to cut off escapes.
After the trip, they could only abandon it.
Ale grabbed one turret plate, but without kills, his growth still lagged behind Syndra.
At six minutes, Syndra hit level six.
Doinb had died twice and was only level five—down a full level.
Facing a level-six Syndra, the pressure was unimaginable.
Tarzan had to hover mid to prevent another tower dive.
But what shocked him was: even with him mid, Syndra wasn't afraid at all—she even autoed the tower.
The two Koreans couldn't understand.
But a level 4 Lee Sin and level 5 Ryze versus a level 6 Syndra really couldn't do much.
Fearlessness made sense.
She kept tossing Qs. If Lee Sin got caught, he'd get one-combo'd.
Tarzan didn't dare act.
With jungle locked mid, Ale couldn't politely keep pushing top.
Tian quietly moved top.
Zoom had endured for so long—seeing Tian arrive, he immediately charged in and knocked Jayce up at point-blank range.
Then he charged Q and smashed him up again!
The damage was solid—over a third of Jayce's HP was gone.
Tian followed with control, and with two assists and plates earlier, his items were already strong.
Stun, autos, Q—Jayce's HP dropped rapidly.
Even with strong survival instinct and burning Flash, he still got chased down and killed.
Some LNG fans in chat couldn't hold it.
A 3–0 start—what the hell?
Top lane was supposed to be the core. Picking Jayce and not playing through top—what are you doing?
And why is Ale becoming like TheShy—"if you dare gank, I dare die"?
Tian's first top gank already worked?!
But the next second, mid brought even worse news.
As Lee Sin tried to leave mid, Syndra stunned him.
A five-sphere ultimate poured in—fully loaded!
After being locked, Tarzan took his hands off the keyboard.
Syndra's killing spree sound echoed across Summoner's Rift.
"It's starting. This is Brother Infinite Borders' Syndra—now he's really coming online."
"Hahaha, LNG got cocky leaving it open. They didn't understand at all."
"His farm is too good. Lee Sin can't withstand this damage."
"Hard to imagine how terrifying Syndra will be next…"
At the caster desk, Wawa and 957 were stunned.
"This is Brother Infinite Borders. You can't give him any opening. Even a tiny opening, and he snowballs you into the grave."
"So strong. You leave it open, I'll confidently take it."
"That's the confidence of a top pro. He won't doubt himself just because one game didn't go his way."
With both top and mid getting killed, LNG could only turtle.
They were forced to give up mid outer turret.
Only nine minutes in, mid outer turret was gone.
After finishing Luden's Tempest, Lin Fan began roaming nonstop to pressure and help Tian secure objectives.
With a Syndra this fed, LNG could only avoid her.
TES had no pressure taking Rift Herald and dragon.
Then, with Tian holding Rift Herald and working with bot lane, they took bot outer turret at twelve minutes.
During this time, Ale's Jayce also got caught once. Syndra's damage was nothing Jayce could endure.
Ale even tried to turn and trade a combo, hoping to claim the shutdown.
He trusted his damage.
But that move reminded the crowd of two months ago—Bin's Jayce jumping in and getting instantly deleted.
Ale's Jayce was no different: Q–E shove, ult—insta-kill.
Right after, top outer turret fell before fourteen minutes.
TES's gold lead hit 6.2k.
At sixteen minutes, Syndra completed second item Shadowflame.
Her damage was maxed out.
Lin Fan saw a full-HP Ryze mid and landed an ultra-long-range push-stun at the edge.
When the tempo isn't in your control, you get dizzy and drift into a "safe bush" mentality and make mistakes.
Normally, Doinb would've reacted and dodged.
Lin Fan himself was surprised it hit—but if you're giving me this, I'll send you on your way.
He picked up a sphere, slammed it into Ryze's face, and dumped ult.
Ryze died instantly.
Seeing that, countless people thought: Syndra is now completely unstoppable.
Tarzan stared in a daze. He used Safeguard, but it did nothing.
Then he tried to seize the chance to kick Syndra in.
But the moment he threw out Q, Viego emerged from the side, scaring him into backing off.
Doinb didn't think anything fancy. He just closed his eyes.
Why give hope first, then despair?
At this moment, Doinb had no more thoughts of slaying gods.
Facing this absurd Syndra, he didn't know how to win.
Ale kept trying to split.
But once Sion's tank items came online, Zoom wasn't afraid of Jayce at all.
That's Jayce's identity—without advantage, he's worse than a super minion. Awkward as hell.
It's a double-edged sword: either you blow the opponent up, or you have no voice at all. "Coasting" is almost impossible.
At 20 minutes, TES controlled vision in the top side and started Baron.
Tarzan threw a test kick—
And somehow it hit Lucian.
He looked at Baron's HP, thought for a beat, then took second Q in and did an R-Flash, kicking Lucian out!
LNG instantly followed with CC.
Even if Doinb was collapsing, he still rooted with E–W.
Everyone dumped damage and deleted Lucian first.
LNG fans screamed in excitement.
A chance! This was a chance!
If they could steal Baron, it'd be even better—maybe they could make a miracle.
Zeri, with Yuumi attached, ulted straight into the pit.
But this was where Syndra's absolute rule manifested.
Four spheres locked on.
Then she shoved them toward Lee Sin and Zeri.
Zeri, left with a sliver of HP, got instantly deleted. Lee Sin dropped to half.
Sion followed with ult for chain control, Viego ulted and finished the kill, then a mid-air Smite calmly secured Baron.
As for the Jayce and Ryze coming down, they got cleaned up one by one.
LNG fans' faces flipped at light speed—joy a second ago, twisted pain now.
Watching Syndra go Godlike, they finally understood: the game was over.
With Baron buff, TES calmly marched and flattened the base.
JackeyLove eating a Q didn't change the final outcome.
The miracle haters and LNG fans hoped for never happened.
"Congratulations to TES for defeating LNG 2–1. This series was exceptionally exciting. Both teams had their battles of wits, but in the end, the adjusted TES laughed last."
"Brother Infinite Borders' Syndra… I think everyone needs to reconsider it."
957 looked at the final results screen—Godlike again, and highest damage in the game.
Beating LNG meant TES had now secured a five-game win streak in the league.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup