No one expected the Mid-Season Invitational to end up like this.
Especially not with TES participating in the tournament in online mode.
This was the first time in more than ten years of League of Legends international competitions that such a situation had occurred.
They could truly be called the only online team.
When the joint announcement from the three parties was released, it sparked heated discussion worldwide.
Especially among viewers from the LCK region.
"Damn it, why is TES so special? They're allowed to play online?"
"Won't they cheat? Watching streams during matches, or having the coach feed them information from behind?"
"That's totally possible. Every time our great Republic of Korea wins a championship, they steal it from us! Just like during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics!"
"Why wasn't TES disqualified?"
"Esports needs fairness, but Riot Games didn't give us any! Is it because their parent company is Tencent? Protest!"
"They couldn't get their visas approved—why insist on online matches? That's completely unfair to our players!"
"If TES can't come, they should be disqualified outright!"
The angry posts from the kimchi-fed keyboard warriors flooded the forums after Riot's announcement.
They claimed SKT had been treated unfairly and vented their rage.
Chinese international students reading those forum posts were furious.
You were the ones blocking the visas. TES chose to withdraw, and then you begged them to participate—now you're the ones playing the victims?
So every good thing has to belong to you?
They even dug up and reposted all of LCK's previous official tweets.
The way they had been practically kneeling and begging TES to participate was now on full display.
When one push wasn't enough, they even dragged Riot Games into it.
In reality, they had their own calculations.
The starting mid laner couldn't come, but the substitute could.
With all other positions cleared, under normal procedures, they should have come to Busan first, played the matches, and then swapped in the starting mid laner once the visa was approved.
Play first, worry about the rest later.
No matter the result, TES would still count as having participated in this year's MSI.
All regional champions would be present, SKT's championship would be gold-plated with prestige, and the esports economy would flourish in a virtuous cycle.
After all, SKT hadn't won an international title in a very long time.
They desperately needed this MSI trophy—especially after EDG won Worlds last year, beating three Korean teams.
They wanted SKT to defeat an LPL team at MSI.
Only that would satisfy even a sliver of their vanity.
After all, back then the three LCK teams had the most championships combined—yet still lost to EDG.
The only consolation was that EDG's two carries were Korean imports.
They won with Korean players, so it didn't fully count…
These keyboard warriors were impressive in their own way.
Even with hard evidence posted, they could lie through their teeth and quietly delete it via moderator tools.
The unified narrative was simple:
TES bribed Riot and earned the right to compete online.
No team had ever been granted such special treatment—not even three-time world champions SKT.
"Damn it, there's no reasoning with these people. They can do whatever they want, but we can't. The double standards are insane."
"Doesn't matter. We already won this exchange. TES stood firm and withdrew, and in the end Riot still had to beg us to come back."
"So what if it's online? Just wait for TES to smash SKT."
"We're so far away—won't they 'accidentally' cut our internet?"
"Honestly, knowing how they operate, that's totally possible. If they fall behind and our side suddenly has 'network issues,' that's an instant comeback."
"Clearly you didn't read Riot's Twitter. This MSI they're sending three official referees to Busan. As for why—those who know, know."
"Oh! Then I get it. TES initially insisted on withdrawing, then later agreed to online play because Riot would send three referees."
"What if even the referees get bought? Just look at the 2002 World Cup or the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics."
"Then we can only hope they still have professional integrity and won't be swayed by money."
Soon, those Korean forum threads were translated and reposted on Bilibili.
After reading them, people were furious.
"TES, don't hold back—kill your way to the finals and beat SKT senseless!"
"But Brother Infinite Borders has been addicted to Infinite Borders lately. Facing SKT and Faker… I'm a bit nervous."
"No way? Still playing Infinite Borders? MSI's about to start and he still hasn't locked in?"
"It's been over three months. Haven't you gotten used to Brother Infinite Borders' style yet? He clearly doesn't train—he does whatever he wants."
"A pro player without a pro attitude. It's just that domestic mids are trash. At MSI he'll learn what 'the sky is high and the earth is thick' really means."
"Korean fanboys should die already. Faker's washed—gets solo-killed every game. SKT relies entirely on top and bot, and neither can handle Brother Infinite Borders alone."
"Neutral take: even if Faker can't beat him, Brother Infinite Borders' career won't last long. Once MSI ends, he'll probably decline."
…
While domestic forums were buzzing, Lin Fan's livestream was just as lively.
"Got it? This is how you play a free win kid."
"As long as you use his mobility well, fighting one versus three is actually easy. The key is you can't fall from above, so every time you use your ultimate, you need to plan your route."
"I didn't play this legend before because it felt too simple. Once you pop your ult and go up to the fourth floor, you control the high ground. Shooting down from above—no one can trade shots with you. Everyone just gets sent home."
"And his Q massively boosts movement speed. There's also a small bug—if you ride a balloon zipline while Q is active, it reduces Q's cooldown. It works the same way as Wraith. If it hasn't been patched, I think it's an intentional mechanic."
"The most important thing: even if you can't aim well, as long as you can do this, you'll still have a good experience. If you can't win fights, grab your teammates' banners. If you get the banners, there's still hope… with your insane mobility, you can run it back."
Hardcore Octane players completely lost it after hearing this.
But thinking about it carefully, it actually made a lot of sense.
Lose a fight? Immediately pick up your teammates' banners.
As long as the mountains remain, there's no fear of lacking firewood.
Brother Infinite Borders really is Brother Infinite Borders—his game understanding is on a different level.
Amazing.
Brother Infinite Borders looks way better on Octane. Flying around and killing everyone is far more entertaining than Lifeline.
No wonder top players love flashy legends.
Just like in League of Legends—strong players are better off using carries. The flashier, the better.
For players who clearly understand their own limitations, picking Malphite to reduce the team's burden is also a good choice.
In Apex, Lifeline fills the same role as Malphite.
Of course, Lifeline's theoretical ceiling is much higher—after all, Lifeline players don't share a single brain, while Malphite players do, and it tends to crash.
"But I still prefer playing Lifeline. Teammates die easily, and Lifeline can save them. With Octane, after a fight I might be the only one left."
"I personally prefer team games—especially winning together."
As soon as he said that, the chat exploded with question marks.
So that's how Brother Infinite Borders thinks?
Now everything made sense.
Lifeline can fight while reviving teammates, instead of everyone dying before the revive finishes—unless you push too far and get finished.
Especially now that Lifeline can revive two teammates at once.
Perfect.
Brother Infinite Borders is way too gentle.
Always thinking about his teammates.
No wonder whenever mid gains an advantage, he roams top and bot to help the team build tempo.
He queued up again, this time not picking Octane and instead locking in Lifeline.
The battle medic went on another killing spree.
Hot-dropping into fights, upgrading his armor to purple, casually racking up ten kills and leading the team to first place.
Lin Big Hammer once again ruled Apex.
After that match, he stopped playing.
Instead, he opened a document on his desk and started reading.
The viewers leaned in as well.
It turned out to be the MSI schedule.
Damn—Brother Infinite Borders was finally studying the matches seriously.
Even though the tournament started tomorrow, this was still progress.
"There's a match tomorrow—kind of annoying. It starts at eight in the evening. That means I need to finish quickly. If we siege a city at nine, we have to end before 8:50. Accounting for prep time, twenty minutes should be enough to crush IW."
IW was a wildcard team—the new king of the Turkish league.
Their strength was decent, roughly even with WE.
Both teams had a 'W'—just one in front and one behind. Naturally, the gap wasn't huge.
Lin Fan then scrolled the schedule to the 14th.
"Nice. No conflict that day."
Everyone immediately realized—
The TOC3 China qualifier was on the 14th.
Wait… Brother Infinite Borders wasn't planning to skip Teamfight Tactics even during MSI?
Was he really going to keep competing?
He had never said he'd give up the qualifiers.
But juggling two high-intensity tournaments at once—did he really have the energy?
Even his most loyal fans were starting to worry.
This year's MSI, due to the visa issues and Riot's involvement, turned into an online event for TES.
Even before LPL and LCK faced off, the gunpowder was already thick in the air.
Both sides were flaming each other across servers.
This MSI clearly carried special meaning.
Winning the championship didn't matter—but SKT had to die.
The rivalry had to leave SKT with a deep impression.
With more teams participating this year, the format changed.
In the group stage, the top two teams from each group advanced.
Three groups meant six teams entering the next stage.
That stage resembled the old MSI group stage—top four advanced to semifinals.
First played fourth, second played third. Winners advanced to the finals to decide the champion.
The MSI scale expanded further.
The schedule grew by five days but remained reasonable, finishing entirely in May.
It wouldn't affect the Summer Split.
"Brother Infinite Borders, you have to play well in the knockout stage! Especially against SKT—beat them hard!"
"Yeah! They're acting like the Worlds title was won by LCK."
"Aren't Korean dogs always world-class at biting people?"
…
May 10th.
3:00 PM Beijing Time—the MSI opening ceremony.
The Busan Esports Arena was packed.
The keyboard warriors waved SKT flags and roared their support.
The opening match was SKT versus Vietnam's SGB.
For them, winning the first match was guaranteed—this was pre-celebration.
After the ceremony ended, the opening match began.
SKT and SGB took their seats.
The cheers grew even louder.
But the opening was shockingly dramatic.
Just ninety seconds in, SGB's bot lane duo scored a lane kill against SKT's bot lane.
The precise coordination between Tristana and Alistar completely crushed Gumayusi's Lucian.
The jaw-dropping scene instantly silenced the SKT fans.
What was going on?
Wasn't Gumayusi performing like the world's number one ADC in the league?
How did he get lane-killed by a wildcard bot lane?
Domestic livestream chat went berserk.
"That's it?"
"That's all?"
"I thought they were scary."
"Feels good."
"SKT isn't that great either~"
Even JackeyLove was stunned.
He couldn't understand why Gumayusi played like that—completely disrespecting his opponents.
Against a Tristana–Alistar lane, once they gain an advantage, even Lucian–Nami has to die.
Sure enough, by seven minutes, SGB had already taken bot outer turret.
However, Zeus on the top lane held firm.
Even after bot lane hemorrhaged such a massive advantage, he bought time for his team.
Vietnamese teams' tactics were always rough.
Even with a lead, they struggled to snowball.
Against the seasoned SKT, they had no good way to close.
They were forced to stall, and in that time SKT slowly clawed their way back.
Once Lucian caught up in farm, SKT's teamfighting became much easier.
After thirty-two minutes of battle, SKT won the first MSI match without major incident.
But the performance was clearly underwhelming.
Even after the win, the cheers in the arena were far quieter than at the start.
Because this didn't match the expectations of the keyboard warriors at all.
It didn't look like a championship-caliber team.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup