Zeus left the game!
The moment everyone saw that, the official stream's chat started flying.
"It's over—Zeus's mental exploded. Is he quitting the game in Game 1?"
"If it were me, I couldn't take it either! Bot lane first-picked Caitlyn, the opponent disrespected them and snapped up Draven. Didn't get a lane advantage, got ganked into collapse. Mid Twisted Fate even popped ult and whiffed it! Four teammates, two side effects—how do you even play?"
"Hahaha, I'm dying, that's way too vivid."
"Put TheShy in and Zeus would have a chance to win—but Zoom's an old oil stick. You won't get a single kill off my head. Don't even think about it."
"True. If 'Song Jiang' shows up, top Kennen gets insanely fed. In teamfights, one ult and Draven gets deleted for sure."
"You guys are just forcing the flame. You can't even flame the right thing. TheShy's Gwen has the highest win rate in the LPL."
"Zoom is a top laner from the TheShy era too. His pressure resistance is naturally maxed out. Zeus really doesn't have TheShy's laning suppression."
"Bro, this is MSI. Why are we watching TES vs. SKT, and I can't find WBG anywhere? Which one up there is TheShy?"
Chat kept bickering. That's just how it is—once top lane gets mentioned, TheShy is guaranteed to show up, especially since TES's ADC is JackeyLove.
As former teammates, a lot of people love doing one thing: step on JackeyLove, then lift up TheShy.
In IG's "trident," top and bot always had the most discourse, and their fanbases clashed the hardest.
Maybe because Rookie was always the kind who just performed quietly—his fans didn't like fighting over this and that.
So he showed up less, and usually didn't join the arguments.
"Congratulations to TES for taking the first game!"
"Tu Bro played an incredible Ryze this game. Faker's signature Twisted Fate got beaten so hard he didn't make a sound. From start to finish, he was pinned under his turret and couldn't do anything."
"Yeah, especially the Ryze–Nocturne combo. Once the ultimates came out, the other side didn't react at all—they just got aced."
"Right. This mid-jungle pairing had a plan. Twisted Fate was completely useless, hard-countered from start to finish. And this game ended within twenty minutes. The gap is huge."
"The two teams' mid-jungle on paper are about the same, but SKT's comp never came online. TES's tempo just kept spinning faster and faster—one ace and they casually ended SKT."
"Let them rest a bit so they can play Game 2 in a better state. I'm sure the pressure's a lot lower now."
"Exactly. Looking forward to TES showing an even better performance in Game 2."
The moment that was said, Wawa started muttering, "Game 1 ended in eighteen minutes. 'Even better'—does that mean sixteen or seventeen… or even fifteen?"
"Ahem, ahem… that's a bit much."
The two of them bantered back and forth on the caster desk.
Chat exploded even harder.
"1557?"
"1557!"
"Small-minded. I think it can be 443!"
"If you keep bringing up 443, the kid's gonna call the cops."
"Is there any damage stat lower than 1557?"
"Then pick a compromise—1100. I think that's pretty suitable."
"Little haters. All little haters."
"But if Faker gets beat by Tu Bro for three straight games, will his mental explode? If he retires after the match, that'd be bad."
…
SKT's five players were a bit stunned from getting smashed, but their mental was still solid. And as soon as they got back to the lounge, the coach started talking them through it.
"Losing this game isn't about strength. It was mainly because on red side, Ban-Pick is hard, and they guessed our plan. This time we'll be on blue side—we can win easily, tie it up first, then win with strategy after. As long as we win one game on red side, this championship is definitely ours!"
The coach's words echoed through the lounge.
"Next, we need to play with more details. Zeus, be careful in lane. Don't be so kill-hungry. When you hear your teammates' signals, you have to back off immediately."
"And can you wait until the game ends before leaving? Don't be in such a rush."
Zeus nodded. He was complaining like crazy inside, but his face didn't show it.
The coach nodded in satisfaction.
You can't be emotional in a match—you have to use your brain.
Faker looked a bit awkward hearing Zeus get scolded nonstop.
After all, Zeus getting caught was mainly because of Ryze mid.
If he'd reacted faster and pinged earlier, Zeus probably wouldn't have been ganked that many times.
"Twisted Fate didn't do anything. My problem is bigger. I think against Dine, Twisted Fate really isn't suitable—we need something else."
"Mm. True. Their laning might be weaker, but their roaming support is outrageous. Otherwise, they wouldn't have played seven games of Twisted Fate in the earlier stage. Then we fight them in lane."
"I think that works," Faker nodded.
If Twisted Fate's laning wasn't so weak, he would've already smashed Ryze.
On TES's side, winning a game only earned them a brief celebration.
They'd only taken one-third. Only after winning two more would it be time to really celebrate.
After the short break, SKT returned to the stage, while TES went into the training room.
Even on camera, you could see TES's expressions were relaxed.
That was a good sign.
"You can tell they're in a great mood."
"Right. After taking Game 1, the pressure is naturally lower. If they win this one too, they'll have match point at 2–0. Then it should be pretty stable," Miller said, picking up from Wawa.
"But this time TES is on red side, so tactically they may have to make trade-offs. On this patch, blue side advantage is just too big," Guan Zeyuan said.
"Mm, that's true. But the moment you say that, I feel extremely safe," Wawa laughed.
Chat kept flooding as well.
"He's casting again—Commander Guan is casting again. TES is already locked. Tian's Nocturne didn't int last game, and that final crucial ult—Commander Guan deserves credit."
"I think we can count it."
"Blue side really is easy for Ban-Pick. Feels like a warped patch."
"We're used to it. Every year, blue side has an advantage. But in-game, if blue side doesn't win lane, securing Baron gets troublesome."
"All this talk boils down to one point: besides mechanics, matches are also about strategy and Ban-Pick. Whoever prepares better wins."
"Pro league has been around so long—the gap between pros isn't actually that big."
"I don't know what you are, but after watching Game 1, if you can still say that, you're truly insane."
On the big screen, SKT immediately banned Draven.
Looks like Draven gave them a serious headache last game.
If you can't beat it, ban it.
TES's plan was also clear: besides Jayce, take whatever top champion you want. If you can carry, then you really are a top-lane god.
Zeus smacked his lips at that.
Without Jayce, he wasn't planning to pick Kennen again. It was way too useless.
SKT's coach also planned to set TES up.
Since TES had that Kalista counter to Azir, he'd bait them into picking it.
After the first ban phase ended, SKT first-picked Azir.
"Azir… Azir is a mid champion the LCK uses a lot. The upside is stability. I think it's fine. What they need now is mid to hold steady, then look for teamfight chances later," Wawa said.
"TES also has a mid pick that counters Azir really well."
"Kalista?"
"Yeah. Kalista's pressure in lane is maxed out," Guan Zeyuan said.
The moment he finished speaking, TES instantly locked Kalista.
"They took it!" SKT's coach smiled coldly.
Sure enough, Azir successfully baited out Kalista.
TES's second pick was Gragas. SKT didn't care.
Gragas, aside from jungle, was only so-so top.
If it was confirmed top, they could just pick Fiora and chop.
Plus if they blew up mid, Game 2 advantage was SKT's.
With TES picking Kalista, the outcome was basically decided.
SKT then took Zeri plus Yuumi—scale to late game and become invincible.
He'd already thought it through in the lounge.
Last game, they gave windows mainly because Caitlyn's range was too long. Pushing waves in to build advantages made it easy to get punished.
If they picked scaling instead, TES's mid being Kalista meant it couldn't really move. Bot lane wouldn't be easy to dive.
This was him on the fifth layer. Ban-Pick was about to explode TES. Once jungle came out, how could TES play?
Blue side really was that unbeatable. Last game it was only hard because TES had blue.
This time, it would be easy…
TES's third pick locked Gnar, confirming Gragas was jungle. But that didn't matter.
They'd just target TES's bot lane. Ban out their bot champs and TES couldn't play.
In the second ban phase, SKT banned two ADs: Lucian and Aphelios.
Luo Sheng's face split into a grin.
"They really think you're mid Kalista."
Lin Fan laughed. "They've got the impression. Whenever they pick Azir, I use Kalista. Not just SKT—everyone thinks my Kalista is to counter Azir."
"Baited two bans—that's pretty good. Huge profit. And they're Zeri plus Yuumi—our Shadow Isles duo will just smash them in lane," JackeyLove said arrogantly.
No matter what, Gumayusi was the easiest ADC to beat. It felt like beating him was effortless.
And SKT's bot duo really was weak beyond words.
Kalista was also a great counter. With Thresh, it's 'CC equals death.'
So TES locked Thresh fourth.
Seeing that, SKT's coach felt something was off.
They still hadn't picked an ADC. Were they going to flex Kalista down to bot?
His scalp went numb.
He felt like he'd been too presumptuous.
SKT locked Graves and Vi on picks four and five.
The idea was simple. At first he wanted Elise for nonstop tower dives, but this didn't feel right—so he picked Vi to observe. Target-lock was still broken.
Vi put huge limitations on any ADC. No matter what TES picked, she'd have room to perform.
And TES's fifth pick—insta-lock LeBlanc!
The most classic "mom beating her son."
If you push waves, it's hard. If you don't, it's hard. Truly stuck either way.
The moment LeBlanc was selected, SKT's coach's face went black.
Because he'd already written the script, but TES refused to follow it.
With things like this, Game 2 felt very wrong.
If they wanted to win, it really would come down to player performance.
They were the best pros in the LCK, so he believed they wouldn't disappoint.
But the way he kept rubbing his hands showed his confidence wasn't that firm.
…
Sure enough, both mid and bot were completely hard-countered. The draft was a total disaster.
And with the gap in strength still there, it was almost impossible to stabilize.
At level two, Azir's HP was already chunked down to half. He crouched under turret, quietly licking his wounds.
Then Gragas came charging in from the side, belly-first. From behind, LeBlanc instantly flashed W-E-A to proc Electrocute, casually collecting Azir's head.
Azir into LeBlanc was just miserable.
No matter how clear your thinking was, it was hard to hold steady—especially as levels rose, it only got worse.
Azir's damage was too soft. LeBlanc stepping on your face was an instant delete.
Just moments after first blood, TES's bot lane sent good news too.
Mark flung a beautiful E, and together with JackeyLove's Kalista stacking spears, they easily secured a double kill.
After all, once the champion Yuumi is attached to dies, where can an unattached Yuumi even run?
Double kill.
Not even four minutes in, three deaths were already on the board, and the entire arena was filled with a suffocating atmosphere.
They came to watch SKT win a title—not to watch SKT get stylishly stomped by TES.
After respawning, Azir had just eaten two waves.
LeBlanc stepped on him twice. Gragas showed up again.
Same script—except this time, Gragas was the one who had to burn Flash.
Staring at his death screen, Faker's head went ice-cold.
It's over.
When LeBlanc recalls here, next wave at level six, isn't it just "meet and die"?
His mechanics had fallen off a lot, but his understanding of champions was still there.
He knew exactly how terrifying a two-kill LeBlanc was at the six-minute mark.
"Boom!!!"
Level six LeBlanc went straight for Azir under turret.
Easy—step in and Q-R-E with Electrocute to one-shot.
That image reminded everyone of LeBlanc's earliest nickname.
One-shot Sister.
The moment you meet her, your HP bar gets deleted.
"Damn it—refund my money!"
One voice led two, then turned into a whole crowd.
Furious SKT fans saw this and started screaming inside the Busan Esports Arena.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup