With such an enormous item gap in mid lane, it was already impossible to keep laning normally.
Even though FPX fans had mentally prepared themselves—knowing that Azir would be useless and repeatedly solo killed by Syndra—the scene that followed was still too much for their fragile hearts. They could only clutch their chests tightly, afraid to even make a sound.
Fierce! Way too fierce! Ruthless! Absolutely ruthless!
Anyone who still claimed that Rise of Kingdoms Bro's earlier dominance was just luck—good form on his side and opponents playing poorly—deserved a hard slap in the face.
This was the correct way to play Syndra.
After shoving the wave under the turret, a precise Dark Sphere landed on Azir beneath the tower. That was immediately followed by a gentle push with Scatter the Weak, forming an unavoidable QE combo. All of Gori's positioning efforts became meaningless as he was stunned stiff under his turret.
Syndra then picked up a nearby minion and hurled it straight at Azir's head.
For a full 1.5 seconds of stun, Gori could do absolutely nothing, only watching his health bar plummet.
And the moment the stun ended, Syndra's second Q—fresh off cooldown—was already there.
After casting it, she calmly turned and walked out of turret range.
"The item gap is just too big. He ate the combo and went from full HP to losing two-thirds instantly."
"Syndra is already very strong in the early game, and with this ahead-of-curve economy giving her items, Azir's fragile body simply can't handle it. Did you see how much gold she stole? Thirty-seven gold in total," Miller swallowed before reorganizing his thoughts.
"That means Syndra's burst damage is around four hundred and fifty right now. Her execution threshold will only keep rising and will far exceed Azir's HP pool. Gori absolutely has to watch his positioning—if he gets stunned, he will be solo killed."
"At this point, Rise of Kingdoms Bro just needs to keep up sustained pressure."
"Tian is also helping by placing vision, preventing Rise of Kingdoms Bro from getting ganked."
On the player stage, a fire burned in Gori's chest, though he didn't know where to vent it.
If not for getting minion-blocked at level one and then solo killed, none of this would've happened. The opponent wasn't even that good—just throwing skills randomly.
If he could just claim Syndra's bounty, the entire game would flip.
"Clid, take Syndra's bounty and I can lane normally again," he said. At this point, only the jungler could help him.
The enemy had called their jungler at level two—calling his own jungler now was only fair.
Clid pressed Tab and glanced at the scoreboard.
Syndra's items were terrifying. It felt less like helping his teammate gank and more like helping the enemy countergank. If Jarvan was lurking nearby, it would be disastrous—mid–jungle coordination turning into a double death.
He didn't want to go.
But he still had to manage his mid laner's emotions.
Clid rotated Graves toward mid and hovered for a while, but never committed.
"No opportunity. You're not level six, and neither am I. We can only wait for them to dive, and that's a waste of time. I'll just drop a ward for you. I'll recall, get items, hit six, then come gank. Just stabilize and don't take more damage."
Gori could only nod helplessly.
But watching Syndra shove the wave made the pressure unbearable. He was terrified that Jarvan would suddenly appear from the side.
The unwarded top side filled him with dread.
Jarvan wouldn't come gank again… right?
As long as he held out under turret for a few more minutes, help would arrive.
He quickly tucked Azir behind the turret. Even if it meant missing some minions, at least Syndra couldn't touch him.
If you want turret plates, take them. None of that mattered.
But Syndra didn't stop at plates. She continued stepping forward, forcing her way from outside the turret into the inner zone.
Gori's head jolted.
A chill shot straight from his scalp to his backside.
He nearly jumped out of his chair.
Because he knew—she wanted to solo kill him again.
But he didn't dare retreat. The moment he stepped outside turret protection, death was guaranteed, with no chance of trading kills.
Even though he blamed everything on the level-one minion block, he knew the truth.
An Azir with only a Dark Seal had zero damage.
A level-five Syndra versus a level-three Azir—no exaggeration, the Emperor of Shurima was nothing more than the Dark Sovereign's toy.
The broadcast immediately cut to mid lane.
"Is Rise of Kingdoms Bro… going for a tower dive?"
"First round of damage looks sufficient!"
"He's going in!" Miller shouted as Syndra raised her hand.
"That damage!"
"Gori reacts quickly with a dash, but Rise of Kingdoms Bro responds just as fast—picking up a sphere and landing it on Azir!"
"The turret is hitting Syndra, but another push-ball connects straight onto Azir!"
"That's it—one auto to finish!"
"Syndra steps sideways and exits turret range, still very healthy. No pressure at all!"
On the big screen, Syndra still had three-quarters of her health remaining.
The reason was simple—Azir had been completely suppressed in lane. Gori dared not fight back at all.
This tower dive had zero risk.
Under the turret, the Emperor of the Sands once again crumbled into dust.
This scene… everyone was already familiar with it.
It had happened three times this game.
The Dark Sovereign was on a killing spree.
FPX had given up three kills—all from mid lane, all from Gori.
A complete disaster.
This was the most outrageous match since the Spring Split began.
It could only be said that Azir had been toyed with from start to finish by the wicked woman Syndra.
Before the match, everyone was excited to see Lin Fan's performance as TES's new starting mid laner.
What they saw instead was genuinely terrifying.
People expected an advantage—but not one this massive.
Two solo kills before level six, plus one with jungle assistance.
Rise of Kingdoms Bro was unbelievable.
Even though he was known for never practicing and spending his days playing other games, his individual skill clearly needed to be re-evaluated.
Or perhaps only Syndra could produce such a shocking performance.
Gori was numb, staring at the black-and-white screen, unsure what to think.
As for Little Tiger in top lane, he didn't even care about the wave crashing into his turret. He immediately piloted his Gragas away.
He had seen TES versus TT. When Syndra was in form and killed mid, she didn't recall—she went straight to roam bot.
The opponent's movements were off. Running was the safest option.
Mid lane was already a disaster. Top lane couldn't become the second breakthrough point.
Even if it meant abandoning a massive wave under turret, he had to leave.
Zoom watched the fleeing Gragas with a face full of question marks.
I didn't even do anything—why are you running?
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup