Lin Fan's visa didn't get approved. And since the other teammates' visas did, it was hard to outright claim the South Korean "sticks" were deliberately obstructing it.
According to their response, the photo had defects—take a new one and resubmit.
But the approval timeline depended on their speed.
Over these two days, the club made several trips. They submitted exactly as required, yet every time it came back as "not approved"...
The third time was even more outrageous—they demanded the process be restarted from the standard procedure.
One week of stalling, minimum.
How could Guo Hao not understand what that meant?
It was deliberate!
The goal was to stall long enough to wipe out the entire group stage.
He immediately called an emergency meeting.
Meeting!
* * *
Weibo crowds waited anxiously for good news.
But all the way until May 7th, TES still hadn't posted any updates.
Fans camping nearby didn't see any team bus movement toward the airport either.
MSI was scheduled for the 10th of this month.
Even leaving on the 8th would've been tight, but the club still hadn't announced anything—no word on where the second visa process stood.
Online discussion exploded.
Naturally, the first target of attacks was the Koreans.
"Sportsmanship is disgusting. Can't deal with Brother Infinite Borders, so you ban him at the source?"
"I've seen Korean competitiveness before, but doing it from the root like this is way more high-level than pulling the network cable. Respect."
"I saw the notice that night and my heart jumped. I was afraid it wouldn't pass again. And sure enough, that fear came true."
"Damn it. If you can't win, just can't win. Why do this lowdown crap? If Brother Infinite Borders can't go, are you sending Knight instead? What level is he?"
"This is genuinely nauseating. Any solutions?"
"Unless you change the host country. But Riot scheduled this year's MSI in South Korea."
"They're panicking. S11 title slipped away. This year T1 looks like they can win MSI, and TES as the all-Chinese LPL representative is terrifying—Brother Infinite Borders' form is absurd. No doubt Faker and the old dog got scared. Can't win, so ban the player!"
"T1 is strong enough this year. This isn't necessary. TES just didn't follow the process properly. If they did, they'd already be in Korea preparing."
"Since the other players have visas, just send them first. Group stage is easy anyway—PSG, IW, RED are all trash. Free wins. When Brother Infinite Borders' visa is ready, he joins."
"Get out. The starter stays home while subs play? What kind of logic is that? If they're this disgusting, just don't participate!"
"Exactly. Why participate? If it was tourism, sure. But this is competition—how can you obstruct a starting player's visa and pretend that's fine?"
"Support TES withdrawing!"
"Same!"
"Whatever. If they want MSI, give it to them."
"T1 is so strong this year, MSI is definitely theirs anyway. What do you mean 'give'?"
"All the Korean stans get out. Can't you see we're being bullied? Brain-dead animals."
"Go to hell. I thought you just supported a team you like, but Korean stans are brainless beasts!"
People argued themselves into fury, then turned the gunfire on the "no-brains" who were stirring trouble.
TES right now was the strongest all-Chinese roster ever.
Before they could even show off on the world stage, they got disgusted first.
Then a few brainless people came in to fan the flames—who could take that?
So the targets shifted.
* * *
Inside TES's club, everyone sat in the meeting room, faces extremely serious.
"Lin Fan's visa didn't pass again..."
"There isn't enough time."
"Right now there are two choices," Guo Hao said slowly, but with force.
Everyone raised their heads.
In the corner, Knight tried hard not to laugh.
He was thrilled that the visa got blocked.
If everyone else's visa passed, then the club had only one option: send the players who can go to the tournament first.
So who would be the starting mid?
Only him.
Go to an international event and stomp these third-rate mids—his reputation would come back.
International dominance matters far more than domestic dominance.
Being strong in foreign wars is what people want. Being strong at home is useless.
Look at EDG before—domestic champions every year, yet got stomped internationally every year. The reputation was still awful, "phantom god" labels everywhere.
Not until last year, when they beat a "three-title" team and won Worlds S11, did the public opinion finally improve.
Maybe breaking the curse: domestic play doesn't work, so get knocked out early in playoffs and go rage internationally.
"You guys with visas go play first. Once Lin Fan gets approved, I'll take him over," Guo Hao said.
Knight nodded, satisfied.
"Sounds good!"
But shockingly, he was the only one who responded.
Everyone else sat silent, looking at Lin Fan.
Don't you all want MSI?
It's the stage to show your strength.
And an MSI title is second only to Worlds.
That's a huge honor!
Why is nobody reacting?
Knight's smile froze.
"I think that works too. I can finish the TFT China qualifiers here, then go out and play straight into the knockout stage," Lin Fan said.
"I'm the Finals MVP. To put it bluntly, I carried us. In fights, you just follow me and charge.
If I'm not there, what's the point of group stage?
And I can see their plan—they stall group stage and try to make us play knockouts without me, or maybe by the time my visa passes, we're already eliminated.
Then who knows when it ends.
What if you all go and I still can't?"
"I say we just withdraw. If we don't play, we don't play. At Worlds we'll crush every LCK team. Damn it!" JackeyLove got fired up and cursed.
"Exactly. If Fan-ge can't go, why should we go? It feels like we stole the victory," Mark agreed immediately.
Bot duo, one heart—husband sings, wife follows.
Tian nodded too. "Same. Without Fan-ge, my jungle feels random. I'd get flamed to death. Better to take a break and wait for Summer Split."
"Me too." Zoom opened his mouth. He had a lot of words in his head, but when it came time to speak, none came out. He could only add: "Me too."
Luo Sheng smiled from the side.
"Hahaha. The second choice is what you all just said. TES withdraws and doesn't attend MSI."
"I hadn't even finished saying it, and you already decided. Then there's nothing else to discuss," Guo Hao said, laughing loudly.
If the team can twist into one rope and move as one, what are they afraid of?
MSI? Yes—big international event.
But we don't need to beg to attend.
"Then we wait for Worlds and teach all those Korean teams a lesson. Smash them all," Luo Sheng followed up.
"Isn't that unnecessary? It's MSI. You going is actually good. If I don't go, I'm comfortable. I'll just go play TFT China qualifiers and do TOC 3…" Lin Fan tried to talk them down.
"Fan-ge, once we decide, we won't change. If you can't go, none of us go."
"Yeah…"
"Count me in—none of us go."
…
Hearing his teammates, Lin Fan couldn't say he wasn't moved.
MSI is second only to Worlds.
RNG has two MSI titles, and people still bring it up every year.
JackeyLove hadn't won an international title in a long time—he really needed one to prove himself.
Because IG's three carries—people always said he was the "carried" one.
His only highlight was flashing forward. Everything else was "top and mid carried."
Last year they didn't even make the regional qualifier—he got mocked to death.
"Small problem. MSI title is gone, so be it. Fan-ge, you still have to carry us to a Worlds title."
…
Knight stared in disbelief.
What are you idiots doing?
This is MSI!
A chance to make your name.
Are you all insane?
No wonder you can't coordinate with them—you're all abnormal. Brains full of water…
At 3 p.m., TES submitted a withdrawal request to the officials.
All players, due to force majeure, could not attend this year's MSI, and thus requested withdrawal.
Soon after, the official Weibo posted an announcement:
"Due to starting mid Dine's visa application failing to pass, and due to TES top Zoom, jungle Tian, ADC JackeyLove, and support Mark experiencing force majeure health issues requiring extended recovery at base, for the sake of players' future careers, TES will regrettably withdraw from MSI."
In that instant, both domestic and overseas scenes exploded.
TES announced withdrawal.
"Holy crap, TES is actually so based!"
"I honestly thought about it too. If Brother Infinite Borders can't go, then just withdraw."
"Fine. I stand with TES. You want to obstruct visas? Obstruct them. I'm not your servant. MSI—do whatever you want."
"I always thought MSI was boring anyway. If no team goes, I won't watch."
"Hahaha, now Brother Infinite Borders actually has time to play TFT qualifiers. Offline meetups—that scene would be hilarious."
"True."
"As an RNG fan, I'll ask quietly: if the Spring champion doesn't go, can the runner-up take their place?"
"Ahem. I was getting hyped, but this part killed me."
Riot, who got the news first, was stunned.
TES isn't coming to MSI—what's the point of watching?
Last year's Worlds champion was from LPL.
If LPL's first seed doesn't attend, what prestige does this MSI even have?
TL: I forgot to say, MSI means Mid-Season Invitational. It'll occur halfway through season and is a chance for international teams to get an understanding of each other.
They immediately tried to find out what happened.
And South Korea's LCK officials panicked.
Based on their research, TES really could threaten T1's title run.
This year's MSI title was a must—especially since it was hosted in Korea.
So they did a small dirty trick: blocked Lin Fan's visa.
They didn't block anyone else's.
Under their logic, TES has a substitute mid.
So TES should only have one choice: bring Knight.
Faker can smash that kind of player easily.
MSI title would be in the bag.
Beating last year's champion region—prestige would be huge.
Declare to the world: T1 is back. The Demon King has returned.
But TES made a choice nobody expected.
Withdraw.
That move was checkmate—right to the vital spot.
Now everything was chaos.
"Go contact them. Stop blocking the visa. TES can't withdraw."
"Right. TES can't withdraw. Even if they come, we can still operate things."
"As long as they come, we can still 'manage' the championship."
LCK leadership unified: TES must participate.
Almost the moment the meeting ended, the Korean Consulate in Shanghai got the notice.
They stamped the previous documents and contacted TES.
Guo Hao answered the call and immediately started cursing.
"These dogs—where was this efficiency earlier? The moment we withdraw, you react like this?"
"Heh. Do whatever you want. We're not going to MSI this year."
After this, Guo Hao felt sick.
You decide whether visas pass. We decide whether we attend.
Now you see us withdraw and you panic?
What if we went and got treated unfairly anyway?
What if they pulled the network cable in a match?
They've done that kind of thing before.
So he refused on the spot.
Seeing the visa now approved, but TES still not attending, LCK officials became ants on a hot pan.
They even begged on Twitter/X for LPL officials to persuade TES.
The wording was so pitiful it was basically kneeling.
Chinese spectators enjoyed it immensely.
But also felt it was a shame.
Still—this was exactly how you set the tone.
LPL can't be bullied like this.
If we don't go, isn't that exactly what you wanted?
LPL officials played dumb and ignored it.
With no other choice, LCK officials could only put hope in Riot.
But Guo Hao stayed firm.
"Our players need sufficient recovery time and are not suited for long travel.
Either agree to let us play online from base, or we withdraw.
And Riot must send official referees to our base.
If those conditions aren't met, we still withdraw."
——
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup