On the night before the match against LNG, the official team account deliberately posted a rather artsy, pretentious Weibo.
It rambled on mysteriously for quite a while.
In summary: We will cut through the darkness, rise upward, and fight with no regrets.
Below it were all the sponsor shoutouts.
Instantly, the atmosphere of challenging the final boss was perfectly set.
Not long after the post went live, the comments section quickly filled with fan messages.
"TES, charge!"
"Brother Infinite Borders has been playing Goose Goose Duck with Uzi and the others nonstop these past few days. Will tomorrow's match against Monkey be okay?"
"Relax, get used to it. Wasn't it the same before? Everyone thought something would go wrong, and didn't he still slaughter everyone?"
"Exactly. I don't think winning will be a problem. The real question is—if Brother Infinite Borders actually trained seriously, how strong would he be?"
"Sigh, everyone has their own training methods. Maybe forcing Brother Infinite Borders to train would mean we wouldn't see those insane performances in matches anymore. Look back to when he played support—he felt kind of spaced out back then."
"Makes sense. White Moon probably considered that, which is why there's no news about forcing him to train."
"As long as they keep winning, not training isn't really a problem. If they lose, then educate him properly afterward."
"It's playoffs though! Without a revival, you can't afford to lose!"
"What are you scared of? With Brother Infinite Borders' form, Monkey's just getting crushed!"
Fans showed clear concern about tomorrow's match.
After all, doinb was still a world champion mid laner. He wasn't washed, and sometimes even overperformed.
Recently, he'd been grinding hard, not even streaming. People checked his match history—his ranked win rate was absurdly high.
Over thirty games, only two losses.
Without a doubt, his form was completely maxed out.
Compared to Brother Infinite Borders, who hadn't played a single ranked game, the contrast was obvious.
So the comments gradually took on a tone of wanting to grill Lin Fan.
The guy was insanely strong yet refused to train—how could that not make people anxious?
…
Looking at the official Weibo comments and hearing the coach give Lin Fan some special reminders, Knight felt his opportunity had arrived.
After over half a month of cooling off, no one had dragged him out to be publicly grilled.
The coach had also said he'd get chances to play in playoffs.
Judging by the current public opinion, it would most likely be tomorrow's match against LNG.
With a chuckle, Knight fell asleep—and even started snoring.
March 30th. The third round of playoffs officially began.
"TES, let's go!"
"…"
"LNG, let's go!"
"…"
Comparing the cheers, TES clearly had the upper hand.
When it came to fan numbers, no team in the league could really compete with TES—though they had plenty of haters too.
The first game made it obvious that both teams were testing each other.
The drafts were cautious, especially since Brother Infinite Borders surprisingly locked in Lissandra.
Doinb answered with Galio.
Both mid laners focused on farming. Solo kills were unlikely—everything depended on jungle synergy.
Doinb knew he couldn't match Lin Fan's roaming, so he picked Galio. Even if slower, his ultimate could still provide support.
And it worked—LNG survived the early pressure.
The gold stayed extremely close. TES had a lead, but it was never large.
Seeing the situation, Knight stared longingly at Luo Sheng.
Lin Fan was clearly struggling.
Wasn't he having a hard time even against doinb?
If it were him, he'd lock LeBlanc and blow Galio up instantly!
Picking Lissandra meant Lin Fan wanted to coast.
Knight's excitement didn't last long.
At twenty-nine minutes, during a tense standoff, Lissandra flanked in with her E, then landed a crucial ultimate, locking Ale's Jax in place.
JackeyLove's Zeri instantly popped her ultimate and opened fire.
"…!" Knight was completely stunned.
Weren't they deadlocked just now? Why did Ale walk in and int?
After holding top lane steady for so long, he suddenly handed over a massive play.
A fed Zeri poured out insane damage.
Lissandra picked up a triple kill.
Only Light, positioned far back, barely escaped.
TES instantly stretched the gold lead to six thousand, completely blowing the game open.
After that fight, LNG's tension snapped.
They held on for barely four more minutes.
"Beautiful! Fan-ge's Lissandra really is good. No wonder he was confident enough to pick it," Luo Sheng said with satisfaction.
The director even cut to the backstage camera.
It lingered on Knight for a moment.
The chat exploded.
"Hahaha, Knight's smile looks so forced."
"Of course it's forced. When the starting lineup dropped at noon and Knight was listed as sub, I knew he had some inappropriate thoughts."
"Brother Infinite Borders' Lissandra is still cracked."
"Monkey got completely toyed with."
"Guess whether Knight gets to play today? I think TES takes this 3–0. Brother Infinite Borders is still on fire."
In the MVP vote, Lin Fan swept all five votes.
His damage share was excellent.
7–0–7.
29% damage.
After TES took Game 1, LNG tried desperately to claw back a game.
If they lost Game 2, TES would have three match points.
A reverse sweep would be nearly impossible.
So Game 2 was extremely aggressive.
Doinb even pulled out mid Kled.
Kled is lawless in top lane—bringing him mid to bully mages was even worse.
So Lin Fan answered with Jayce, taking First Strike and immediately starting to steal gold.
Even a veteran like doinb couldn't handle it.
Sweat poured down his head.
Every time Jayce smacked him with a hammer and fired a shot, it felt like his gold deficit grew by fifty.
Damn it!
Brother Infinite Borders' champion pool was bizarre—Kled felt completely countered.
The pressure was immense.
But that didn't change Jayce's explosive growth.
Even before teamfights, the pressure on Light was already terrifying.
Ale, playing Graves, was the only frontline alongside mid Kled.
At twenty-three minutes, TES grouped and forced LNG's inhibitor turret.
Light couldn't even think about clearing waves—he kept dodging nonstop.
One Jayce shot took half his HP.
The pressure was overwhelming.
Doinb stayed hyper-focused.
The moment Jayce fired, he rushed forward to block.
But standing too close meant the AOE still hit.
The crowd gasped.
Kled instantly lost a third of his health.
Jinx behind him dropped to half.
Meanwhile, Jayce earned another 120 gold from First Strike.
That was the charm of First Strike Jayce.
With a lead, his economy snowballed uncontrollably.
With Jinx too low, she had to recall.
TES seized the chance and stormed the base.
At twenty-five minutes, TES' gold lead hit seven thousand.
Jayce completed his four-item spike—true commander mode.
From there, it was pure suffering for LNG.
Engaging meant dying to gold difference.
Not engaging meant getting shelled endlessly by Jayce.
No one expected to see such an unyielding man on the pro stage.
Twenty-plus minutes of nonstop firing.
Turtling under towers meant slow death.
So LNG had no choice but to let TES push them inch by inch.
By the time mid lane minions were cleared and jungle camps taken, the gold gap exploded.
The final fight came at twenty-nine minutes.
With Guardian Angel, Lin Fan fired shots, then dove straight into the crowd.
Hammer-form Jayce smashed Jinx to zero in a single hit.
One swing, one kid.
He finished with a triple kill.
LNG managed to pop Jayce's Guardian Angel.
But after the ace, no one could defend the Nexus.
TES ended the game cleanly.
Two games down, three match points in hand—it was hard to imagine how TES could lose now.
Knight, LNG's so-called best sixth man, put on the mask of pain.
With Lin Fan performing like this, he had zero chance to play today.
All that hype about doinb being in peak playoff form—what a joke.
He never even got to play.
Lin Fan crushed doinb for two straight games.
Now that Knight had finally recovered his form…
He bit his lip, staring at Luo Sheng, hoping for a miracle.
Right then, Luo Sheng glanced at him.
Knight's eyes lit up.
Heart pounding.
"Knight, go grab two cups of water. Slightly warm. They can drink it when they come back," Luo Sheng said.
Guo Hao had already decided—between Knight's planned transfer and his messy private life, he was crossed out.
Especially compared to Lin Fan's savior-like performance.
As for who Golden Left Hand was? He didn't know, and didn't care.
Turns out, a ten-million-salary mid laner was quite easy to order around.
"…Okay."
Knight forced a smile and walked to the water dispenser.
TES returned to the lounge in great spirits.
When Lin Fan took the cup and learned it was poured by Knight, he paused.
This guy didn't spit in it, did he?
"No need. I still have plenty of sports drink from the match."
He pulled out his competition cup.
"Alright, we have a huge advantage. Game 3, play it safe. LNG will be even more aggressive than Game 2. As long as we weather the early storm, we win."
"With three match points, the pressure's on LNG. Once they rush, mistakes happen."
Luo Sheng continued the briefing.
Knight listened, eyes full of disappointment.
Still no mention of subbing him in.
Did the coach's promise not count?
Was it for V5 instead?
Maybe they expected Lin Fan to lose to Rookie and wanted him as backup.
Everyone had a bit of A-Q spirit.
After a brief setup, the players returned to the stage.
The cameras clearly showed LNG's pressure.
Especially Doinb—he'd been smiling nonstop before, but now his face was dark.
After getting crushed twice, who could still smile?
Game 3 went exactly as Luo Sheng predicted.
LNG drafted an all-in lineup.
Top Fiora, jungle Lee Sin, mid Ryze, bot Jinx with Tahm Kench.
TES answered with a defensive comp.
Top Gragas, jungle Hecarim, mid Viktor, bot Draven with Thresh.
Same old plan—mid stabilizes, bot builds an early lead.
LNG played loudly early.
Ale's Fiora was aggressive and built an early advantage.
LNG fans clenched their fists.
There was hope!
Fiora was unbeatable in late-game split push, and TES had no clean answer.
They could tear open the map through top lane!
But Zoom could give you pressure, not solo kills.
So top lane looked loud, but the advantage wasn't that big.
Tarzan focused mid.
He and doinb coordinated, trying to kill Viktor.
But after several attempts, they failed every time.
Doinb even burned Flash–EW.
Lin Fan reacted faster—Ryze flashed, Viktor flashed.
Only ate E and W, no lockdown.
After so many wasted ganks, Tian seized the chance and ulted bot.
JackeyLove gained a massive lead.
LNG's pressure skyrocketed.
Ale made a mistake and got blasted under tower by Zoom.
TES fans went wild.
At 28:34, all three LNG inhibitors fell.
The game entered garbage time.
Draven didn't just one-shot kids—three hits were enough.
Viktor reached the point where QE deleted people.
Fiora could duel anyone—but only with a lead.
Without one, she was a toy.
Mark's Thresh hooked Tahm Kench, starting the final fight.
Viktor unleashed AOE damage freely.
In an instant, the screen filled with blood-red ACE.
Doinb quietly set down his mouse.
His Spring Split journey was over.
He didn't lose unfairly.
Brother Infinite Borders crushed him.
With that level of targeting, anyone would've died once or twice.
But Lin Fan always escaped with absurd movement.
Outplayed completely.
Skill gap—nothing else to say.
"Damn it! He spent two days playing other games, Goose Goose Duck nonstop—why hasn't his form dropped at all?"
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup