Walking over to V5, everyone shook hands one by one. Rookie forced out a smile. Losing was losing, but they were all familiar faces. Blessings still had to be given—and V5 still had a chance to fight their way back…
"Fan-ge, you're amazing. Those three games really surprised me. But I believe we'll still have a chance to face each other later. Next time, I definitely won't lose to you again."
Lin Fan waved it off.
"You gave me a ton of pressure too. If Tian hadn't found that opening in Game 5, it would've been hard to play after that."
The advantage of engage showed clearly—mid-to-late, the initiative was in their hands. Hecarim's ultimate impact was just too good.
"…"
Then the two hugged briefly.
When Photic shook hands, he looked at JackeyLove with envy.
Your mid is a good dad.
Then came the awkwardness—he remembered how he'd specifically invited a small internet influencer to come watch today's match, only to get blown up lane by JackeyLove.
He could only lower his head quickly and start packing up his gear.
They didn't beat TES today, so his little bro could only suffer… no bird-walking tonight.
After the handshake, TES gathered at center stage. Under the lights, they bowed deeply to the audience to thank them for their support.
Honestly, when the pressure is crushing, having fans support you really does make it easier to get through.
Fans are a double-edged sword—good and bad—but overall the benefits outweigh the harm.
After that, as the MVP of the match, Lin Fan—the substitute who led TES to a reverse sweep—was invited to the caster desk.
In fact, the interview target had been changed last-minute. If TES lost, the official plan was to interview Knight.
But Knight played those two games like dogshit. If they brought him up, he'd be getting water bottles thrown at him on the spot.
The broadcast knew who everyone wanted to hear and see. Since TES won, they had to satisfy the audience.
As for the host, it was still Auntie Yu Shuang.
Recently she'd been exchanging flirty looks with Guan Zeyuan, and she looked radiant.
Smiling, she asked, "After a reverse sweep, your feelings must be deeper than ours. Can you share with everyone?"
Lin Fan nodded. "First, I want to say V5 is a very strong team—especially Rookie. He gave me huge pressure and pushed our team right to the cliff. In Game 3, everyone's pressure was enormous."
"But with mutual encouragement and hype, we found the opening, held the wave, and completed the comeback."
"I think it mostly came from team coordination. With Tian's help, I could roam smoothly, and our advantage kept growing."
"I'm really grateful they believed in me. Akali was honestly the first time I'd ever picked her in an official match—I didn't even use her in scrims. But they were willing to pour resources into me."
"That Akali game, I even took seven kills in a row. Tian came mid four times in ten minutes…"
Yu Shuang nodded. "It really was a difficult match. The pressure of winning three straight is something we can't experience ourselves."
Chat spammed wildly.
"Handsome. Brother Infinite Borders isn't taking credit. Game 3 looked like he was slaughtering, but Tian was absolutely the #1 support."
"Told you. When Brother Infinite Borders is in, Tian has tempo. It really is the mid. Shit hand doesn't work."
"I've watched tons of Brother Infinite Borders interviews and streams. His EQ is definitely fine. Feels even better than JackeyLove."
"Did you hear the subtle shade? Tian came mid four times in ten minutes. In those first two games, Tian wouldn't even come mid four times in twenty minutes…"
"So how did Brother Infinite Borders practice Akali? He never even pulled it out in scrims. White Moon's guts are really big!"
"White Moon is a fucking idiot. If he didn't have guts, how would he dare start Timid Hand for two games? He should've realized in Game 1 and benched him immediately."
"What can a rotten-crotch do? His brain is all in his lower half."
"Hahahaha, Timid Hand is going to be pissed watching this interview."
…
And honestly, they weren't wrong.
Knight watched everyone smiling in the lounge, celebrating—
it felt worse than killing him.
Especially watching Lin Fan on-screen, interviewing with that triumphant swagger.
Then, when Lin Fan thanked Tian for constantly coming mid and making it easy to build the lead, Knight's face sank even darker.
I'm eating lemons.
So the whole team was acting against me together, huh?
In those first two games, why didn't bot lane look this strong?
Why didn't top lane keep Jayce in check like this?
Why didn't coach let me pick Sylas? Why force me onto Azir, who does nothing early?
"This series was one of the most unforgettable of my career. In the past, when I played, I never felt any pressure—even when TES started with five straight losses…"
"But I believe in miracles. Our daily effort is enough to support a reverse-sweep miracle."
Yu Shuang nodded approvingly.
"Alright, the next question isn't on the interview card. Wawa specifically asked for it."
"Huh?" Lin Fan looked confused. What question did Wawa specifically add?
"We all know you've been busy grinding rank these past two weeks… so everyone's very curious: where does your champion pool depth come from?"
"Ah, that… Everyone knows I started as a mid laner. Because of certain reasons, I switched to support. These champions were all things I practiced before."
"Once I'm in lane, I just throw a couple skills to refresh the muscle memory."
"So I'm really grateful for my past effort—it makes things easier for me now."
The moment he said that, the audience started whispering among themselves.
"Practiced before?"
"Holy shit. If his hands can stay like that for so long, he never should've role-swapped to bot. If he stayed mid, TES should've won last year."
"Last year's meta didn't really fit Brother Infinite Borders' pool… but if that was his peak? Then he was definitely the strongest. One year without practicing mid champions, and he still slaughters on stage? That's the most absurd part!"
"Ten-thousand-person petition: train properly."
"Go write your petition yourself. I support Brother Infinite Borders playing Honor of Kings!"
"Yare—HoK rats get out. This is Brother Infinite Borders Square!"
"Thanks again to Brother Infinite Borders for the interview. We hope you'll have even better performances in the upcoming matches."
Yu Shuang ended the interview with her signature smile.
Lin Fan waved to the audience and walked back toward the backstage lounge.
…
After the interview ended, TES immediately boarded the bus back to base.
After this series, TES had another five days of rest time.
Tomorrow's match would be JDG vs RNG. The winner would be TES's next opponent.
Because of the format, even winning only got you into finals, where you'd wait for the loser's bracket challenger.
So even though only four teams remained, it still took six series total to decide the champion.
For the audience, it meant more exciting matches.
The loser could revive and still had a path to the title.
For the teams, the pressure was bigger.
To win the championship under this format, you needed absolute strength.
That's why the title's prestige was very high.
On the bus, everyone was still excited.
Pulling off a reverse sweep was an achievement.
"At this pace, we should be LPL's MSI representative this year."
"Don't. We just won one series. Theoretically we still have two series left. They're popping champagne at halftime—we're worse, we're popping it at one-third." Mark joked.
"But no matter what, nobody wants to miss MSI, right?"
"Your mom's kiss, just mentioning MSI makes me mad. That year on IG, we slaughtered groups, and I thought the title was ours—then we died in semis…" JackeyLove muttered beside Lin Fan.
"Honestly, I can't accept it. So this year, I really want to go to MSI."
"If that's the case, hurry up and train. JDG or RNG, both are hard bones to chew. I don't want to lose and fall into losers' bracket."
"Fan-ge, you don't have much persuasion saying that. I've never seen you train even once!"
"Slander. How can you accuse someone of nothing? Can pro player business be called 'not training'?"
"Um… I also want to go to MSI." Zoom, the chubby little guy, said quietly.
He'd played at Worlds before, but it was a rough experience.
And the next year didn't go well either—otherwise JDG wouldn't have listed him for sale.
MSI, the midterm exam, was a great chance to prove himself.
Tell everyone: Zoom can still play!
"Alright. Since everyone's so confident, I'll lead by example today—I'm grinding! TFT to 1300 points! The moment we get back, I'm starting the climb!"
"Nice!"
"Fan-ge, let's go!"
"Go, go, go…"
"But why is it TFT? Why not PUBG ladder?"
"Because TFT is the only one that makes you log into the League client. Grinding other games doesn't show you respect."
"…"
Listening to the players joke around, Luo Sheng smiled without realizing it.
A harmonious team atmosphere really was good.
Keep going, boys—keep moving toward your dreams.
…
Meanwhile, TES's reverse sweep began to ferment.
Weibo heat, sure—everyone was used to it by now.
But even "esports toilet" forums were unusually quiet—no black posts.
Instead, threads popped up nonstop.
"How strong was Brother Infinite Borders mid in S11?"
The OP summarized Lin Fan's interview:
More than a year without playing mid, returns to mid—and plays at a dominant level.
And the thread included plenty of GIFs:
Viktor's explosive damage deleting LeBlanc.
Syndra level-one solo-killing Azir.
Akali outplaying into a triple kill.
…
"The S11 Brother Infinite Borders was wasted…"
"But back then, Knight was actually okay, right? The main issue was 369 running it."
"As for Knight-ge, he doesn't like being evaluated. TES just sold him cleanly."
"Honestly, judging by Brother Infinite Borders' Spring Split performance, S11 Brother Infinite Borders was absolutely a big-shot mid. Terrifying."
"Peak form. Every mid champion at his fingertips. Step on ShowMaker, beat Scout hard."
"That's exaggerating, isn't it?"
"Heh. Did Brother Infinite Borders ever play Summoner's Rift on stream in Spring Split? He streams so much every day, there's no way he's secretly grinding on the side."
"And yet he slaughters on stage. It's hard to understand. But after what he said today—he's clearly living off muscle memory. The credibility is high."
"So S11 Brother Infinite Borders was definitely his career peak! His current level is probably still lower than that state—something beyond our understanding."
"Eh, Knight was okay back then. For a substitute mid who hadn't played on stage, I wouldn't have given him a chance either."
"Only thing is, TES wasted it. With Brother Infinite Borders in S11, they might not have won Worlds, but they definitely wouldn't have lost to LNG. At Worlds, they'd be playing—not stuck at home…"
"TES's overall form looks very promising. We'll see when they face Korean teams at MSI. SKT has recovered these two years. Faker won again with top and bot."
The first few floors were discussing Lin Fan's terrifying peak.
Then the thread got political.
"SKT seems to have found form again. If Faker retires with four titles, that's legend."
"Faker's pro attitude is so good, and he's humble too. If Brother Infinite Borders could learn that, nobody would worry so much."
"Heh heh. I'll boldly predict: Faker is acting. He's already anxious after two years without trophies. If he doesn't win MSI this year, he'll mental boom for sure."
That comment instantly triggered Faker fans.
They jumped in to attack.
But everyone was from Tieba—if you give me a foot, I give you a yard.
Force equals equal and opposite force. If you want war, we'll war.
The thread author debated everyone. In the blink of an eye, the thread jumped fifty floors…
Still, everyone agreed on one thing:
S11 Lin Fan was absolutely peak.
Right now he was living off old skills.
If he didn't train well later, once those old skills ran out, people weren't optimistic about Lin Fan's form.
On the other side, back at TES base, Knight didn't even eat dinner. He went back to his dorm alone.
But nobody cared.
Everyone else ate something simple in the cafeteria, then rushed back to the training room to practice.
Time was tight, and tasks were heavy. In the next matches, they had to maintain peak condition.
They'd come this far—no one wanted to waste all their effort.
And Lin Fan opened his stream right on schedule.
Old viewers already knew: after matches, there was always a "stream segment." They'd been camping early.
Today's series was insane—one word: satisfying. Joy had to be shared.
"Great game, Brother Infinite Borders!"
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup