After the huge momentum swing in mid lane, Lucian had already picked up three kills. Judging from the screams of TES fans in the arena, it was obvious that the situation was extremely unfavorable for JDG. The pressure was completely maxed out.
Lin Fan not only shoved the wave under the turret but also chipped away at it, taking the first layer of turret plates.
This terrifying amount of gold meant he could combine two Long Swords into a Noonquiver. He even picked up a Cloak of Agility. All three components of Galeforce were already in place, and he could still afford Boots. What did that mean? With just three hundred more gold, he could complete Galeforce before the six-minute mark.
It wasn't that Lin Fan didn't want to stay in lane. Being chased by Lee Sin, his current HP wasn't very healthy. If Akali hit level six and committed decisively, even without items, the level advantage alone meant she could potentially one-combo him.
To play it safe, he chose to recall and update his items.
After all, against JDG, Lin Fan really didn't want to lose to Knight.
With his items updated, his damage became terrifying.
Under normal circumstances, at most you'd have Noonquiver. If you wanted Boots as well, you'd usually be sitting on a Pickaxe instead.
Reaching over 110 attack damage was already more than enough—let alone having a bit of everything now: crit chance, attack speed, and raw AD.
At 5:41, Lin Fan found an opening and chunked Knight's Akali to low HP with a full combo, proccing First Strike and earning forty-seven gold.
If not for Akali's shroud and the safety of fighting near the turret, Knight would have died again.
Seeing this unfold, the livestream chat went berserk.
"LMAO, disgrace of assassins. This is the real disgrace of assassins."
"Picked Akali and can't even handle pressure?"
"AD mids actually feel pretty good this patch. Long range, insane suppression."
"I'm not even a Knight fan, but Akali really can't contest Lucian early. Their roles are just too different."
"Akali feels like the biggest trap this patch. Even with the W buff, she's still weak."
"From the moment JDG locked Akali as their fifth pick, there's nothing to defend. Counterpick and it turns out like this—it's honestly absurd. Where does Knight's confidence even come from? Is it because Brother Infinite Borders went to another tournament?"
At this point, JDG finally found an opportunity to gank mid.
Lee Sin came with Renekton to support.
This was all about the timing window when top lane had just recalled to buy items.
369 gave up his own development and teleported to mid lane's tier-two turret, lying in wait.
They had to cut off Lucian's momentum while he still had no Flash.
When Lin Fan stepped forward to pressure, Lee Sin and Renekton appeared from the side. 369 was extremely decisive, instantly using Dominus, E, and Flash to try to stun Lucian.
If Lucian got bitten by a red Fury W here, facing three people, he was dead for sure.
But Lin Fan's reaction was outrageous. He dashed backward with E, barely dodging Renekton's follow-up auto.
Knight knew this might be his last chance. He had to think clearly about the consequences of missing it.
He reversed with E to close the distance and instantly threw out Q to slow.
Lucian's movement speed dropped sharply.
Renekton was just about to reach Lucian—but from out of nowhere, Sejuani crashed through the wall and headbutted Renekton.
Two versus three!
Tian shouted for Lin Fan to run. He was ready to sacrifice himself.
Mid lane development couldn't be affected at all.
But Lin Fan's response completely exceeded Tian's expectations.
"Run my ass. I'm this fed. As long as you tank the damage, we fight."
He raised his guns and unleashed The Culling straight onto the Renekton at the front.
The towering, ferocious crocodile instantly went from a prehistoric beast to a helpless little lizard under Lucian's fire.
In the blink of an eye, a full-health Renekton was chunked down to nothing.
He took the entire channel head-on, then got finished off by The Culling.
The seventy-one gold that popped up on Lucian showed just how insane the damage output was in those two seconds.
Watching their Renekton get deleted, Kanavi and Knight both froze.
Lucian had no skills left—but they still didn't dare to step forward.
Especially with Sejuani standing in front like an absolute bodyguard.
Anger.
Renekton had completely abandoned his own lane to help, only to deliver a fresh three hundred gold.
The crowd erupted. Everyone thought TES was in trouble—but it turned out they'd overthought it. The team in real trouble was JDG.
Lee Sin and Akali immediately retreated.
Tian wasn't afraid at all, planting himself directly in front of Lucian.
Any sign of movement, and he'd go in immediately.
But JDG's mid-jungle duo had already been beaten into submission, turtling under their turret.
At this point, they had no other thoughts. Just take whatever minions they could.
Up top, Zoom saw Renekton get shredded by The Culling and laughed until his mouth couldn't close.
He hadn't done anything, yet he freely collected two waves and even took two turret plates. Once Gwen finished her mythic item, top lane would turn into a chase scene.
…
Just over six minutes in, TES's gold lead had already reached 2,600.
That number was outrageous.
The audience was stunned. JDG was easily a top-three team in the LPL by raw strength.
Yet they were getting smashed like this just minutes into the game? The gap felt ridiculous.
369 casually picked up his water bottle and took a sip, staring blankly at his grayscale screen.
Why wasn't Dine our mid last year?
This year I come to JDG and it's Knight instead. Why can't I escape you wherever I go?
Watching Akali farming under turret while Lucian freely chipped away at it, 369 felt miserable.
Knight felt it even more deeply.
The better Dine performed, the more correct TES's choice looked.
Then he got clipped by a Piercing Light through the minion wave, losing a third of his HP instantly. His anxiety only grew.
At this rate… in another five minutes, mid lane would completely collapse. At that point, even trying to ult onto Lucian might just get him instantly killed.
He was anxious, but had no idea how to change the situation.
Since going pro, he'd been called the number one domestic mid laner. A true mid lane prodigy.
This year, he'd even set an LPL salary record—45 million.
More than world champion JackeyLove.
It had once filled him with pride.
As someone who'd never won Worlds, getting that kind of recognition felt like the highest praise—especially since he was still young and his future salary could only go higher.
Just as he was ready to dominate the league and show his rule, Tian—out of jealousy over his salary—started intentionally griefing him every game.
That was why his performances looked so terrible.
Wave after wave, moment after moment—his value was being crushed.
JDG's management had made it clear: once the summer contract expired, they were only willing to offer around ten million.
Unless he delivered results in summer, there would be no more.
All of this was Tian's fault. All of it was Dine's fault.
The two of them colluding, squeezing him out of his position. They didn't dare compete with him head-on—only using underhanded tricks.
I have to endure. I have to endure.
As long as I stabilize and don't fall too far behind in levels, there's still a chance. There has to be.
Knight firmly believed this.
He was younger than Lin Fan. His mechanics and reactions were absolutely better.
As long as the item gap wasn't too big, with Akali's assassin kit, turning it around would be easy.
Only by believing in yourself could you perform on stage.
But two more Lucian shots slammed into him, chunking another huge portion of his HP.
His face twisted in pain, teeth clenched, when an image flashed through his mind.
Endure.
If Lucian wanted turret plates, let him take them.
He couldn't afford to lose any more HP.
Ignite was back up. A full combo with Ignite would kill him.
So from four plates, mid turret dropped to three—and the third plate was still being shaved away.
Utter despair.
At least under the turret, without his ultimate, Lucian couldn't fully maximize damage.
Even so, at seven and a half minutes, Knight had no choice but to recall. The HP pressure was just too much.
Lin Fan grabbed yet another turret plate.
Whether or not he killed Akali didn't really matter anymore.
At this stage, he could already complete Galeforce and even pick up Berserker's Greaves.
Right now, it was gods he killed if they stood in his way.
Looking at Lucian's items, everyone could only shake their heads.
How do you even play against this?
They certainly had no idea.
Lucian returned to mid, immediately unloaded another combo onto Akali under turret. The Culling tore through her, followed by a Galeforce dash to finish the job—another easy kill.
He then took the fourth turret plate, choosing not to destroy the turret just yet.
Tian moved to the top side and immediately started securing Rift Herald.
Bot lane turret had already lost two plates. All three lanes were under pressure. Rift Herald or Dragon—TES could take whatever they wanted.
Kanavi didn't dare contest any jungle objectives. If he tried, he'd die instantly.
All neutral resources belonged to TES—it was just a matter of timing.
Rift Herald was taken effortlessly, then they rotated to Dragon and secured it as well.
Under immense pressure, JDG's bottom duo hid in the so-called safe bush.
The map was pitch black. Lucian was nowhere to be seen.
Lin Fan glanced at the retreating bot lane and felt a hint of regret.
Six hundred gold walked away—but first turret was still standing.
With only one plate left mid, and Akali plus Lee Sin posing no threat, he swaggered back to mid through the river.
Thinking of how he'd just been shredded, Knight repeated the word again in his mind.
Endure.
Thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, it would be his time.
There was no need to fight over these small losses.
Before ten minutes, Lin Fan solo took mid tier one.
After finishing Dragon, Tian dropped Rift Herald bot lane, instantly smashing down the bottom tier one turret.
From turret plates alone, TES was already ahead by 1,500 gold.
For JDG, there was at least one piece of good news.
This game, Lin Fan was on Lucian—so no one had to deal with a five-stack Mejai's pressure.
That was something, at least.
With mid and bot suffering, top lane's turn inevitably came.
Mid-jungle synergy.
Tower dive on 369!
In front of Lucian's explosive damage, Renekton was nothing but a toy fish.
He died under turret in two seconds.
Top tier one fell as well. Before fourteen minutes, all three outer turrets on JDG's side were gone.
This was the first summer split game where all turret plates were fully taken—and even historically, such games were rare.
Even in this dire situation, JDG still didn't surrender.
Drag it late.
Once Akali scaled, she could easily handle Lucian in teamfights.
Lucian was monstrously fed, but the rest of TES's carries were fairly average. JackeyLove's Kalista became the target.
Lee Sin led Yuumi and Zeri over the wall, charging in head-on. Akali lurked in the back, ready to strike.
Mark made the correct decision, stepping forward.
Worst case, he'd sacrifice himself.
As long as JackeyLove kept retreating, he should escape. Then Kalista could pull him back.
Gwen had already teleported from top lane. As long as Kalista lived, they could turn the fight.
But JackeyLove made a move that stunned everyone.
He didn't run.
He raised his spear and began stacking it relentlessly on Akali.
Knight froze for a moment, his hands hesitating—then two more spears appeared on his body.
If he hesitated any longer, it'd be over. He hurriedly ulted in, trying to land E and deal damage.
But before he could follow up, JackeyLove instantly ulted, yanking the low-health Thresh back.
Mark played it boldly, smashing straight into Akali.
Kalista Q pierced through, followed by E—ripping Akali apart on the spot.
The scene left countless viewers stunned.
It made sense that Akali didn't dare challenge Lucian.
But how could she be scared off by a Kalista who was a level down, with nothing but Shieldbow?
At that moment, Gwen arrived.
Ghost activated, she chased Lee Sin and Zeri down, auto-attacking relentlessly.
A fully charged Q snipped away half of Zeri's HP in one go.
As for mid lane—TES was already on the inhibitor.
The collapse was total.
They hadn't seized their final chance. How could JDG possibly come back now?
From here on out, it was TES's snowball.
At twenty-one minutes, JDG was already down fourteen thousand gold.
Lucian alone had nine kills.
Galeforce, Infinity Edge, Rapid Firecannon—three completed items. Berserker's Greaves, plus a Serrated Dirk. The final slot even held a Control Ward.
They were preparing for Baron.
No vision wouldn't do.
At 21:31, all five TES members assembled at Baron pit, cleared all vision, and started Baron.
No pressure.
Baron was secured effortlessly.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup