Although SKT's win looked ugly, a win was still a win. Even after getting flamed nonstop, they at least secured one point in the group stage.
The second match was still Group A, with Latin America's AZE facing Japan's league champion DFM.
This DFM team was actually pretty interesting—yes, the very same squad that boldly claimed back at the S7 World Championship that they were going to win it all.
They were mocked mercilessly for that statement at the time.
But looking at them now, you could say their players really did have courage.
As Napoleon once said, a soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier.
If a professional player doesn't even dream of winning a championship, then what's the point of being a pro?
If all you ever think about is that making top four is "good enough," then even with talent, that kind of complacency will ruin you.
DFM was precisely a team that dared to think this way, and because of it, their strength had improved year after year.
Their progress was obvious, and in recent years they'd appeared consistently at international events.
From barely winning a single game, to one or two wins… and now even having a real chance to break out of groups.
For them, it was genuinely an inspiring journey.
This match was played extremely well.
From the early game, DFM firmly controlled the tempo and gave AZE no opportunities at all.
AZE tried several times to force fights with numbers advantages, but DFM knew exactly where their strengths lay.
Using their top laner's split push in a 1-4 setup, they consecutively took down three turrets and easily crushed AZE's attempts to counterattack.
At twenty-nine minutes, a decisive teamfight completely ended the game.
With Baron in hand, they marched straight down and finished in one push.
Watching DFM's performance, the livestream chat scrolled nonstop.
Two words stood out above all else—unfamiliar.
Could it be that Japan's league was about to rise this year?
Was there really something to say about them at this MSI?
If they actually made it into the knockout stage, that would be interesting.
TES could punch the Japanese teams and stomp the Korean ones.
Beat up both SKT and DFM.
Of course, that was the optimistic fans talking.
The pessimists still felt SKT was stronger.
As for Korean fanboys, there was no need to even mention them.
Faker would massacre Brother Infinite Borders, domestic mid laners were worthless, and that's why someone like Brother Infinite Borders—who never trained—could thrive.
In reality, he was just another Shockwave.
Didn't that previous Shockwave retire in disgrace as well? Even his one-season comeback became a joke.
They firmly believed that once Dine faced SKT, he would be exposed for what he really was.
The third and fourth matches were Group C.
This was also the most special group.
With only three teams, the top two advanced to the knockout stage, so overall pressure was low.
The format was special as well.
Group C played a quadruple round-robin BO1.
That meant each team played eight games.
Only this way could first and second place be determined more fairly, reducing the chance of accidents.
As the king of Europe, G2 was naturally extremely strong.
They had even eliminated LPL's first seed RNG before.
That was S8 RNG—the team that had won every tournament they entered before that.
A massive upset.
In recent years, G2's honors were nothing to scoff at either: MSI champions in 2019, and Worlds runners-up the same year.
So there were no surprises in these two games.
They easily defeated EG and ORD, taking two points in the group.
After the second match, you could even see smiles on the players' faces.
Despite playing back-to-back games, they clearly didn't feel much pressure.
They showed the strength befitting a major region.
Although EG was North America's first seed, they played with a "happy gaming" mentality.
Their actual strength wasn't much different from wildcard teams.
They hadn't achieved much in recent years either—otherwise they wouldn't have lost their Worlds slots.
As for Oceania's LCO league, it was basically a tiny fish pond.
Even its champion, ORD, could only be considered a small fry.
Participating in MSI was purely about gaining experience.
With those matches done, it was finally time for the game everyone had been waiting for—TES.
Their opponent was IW.
Honestly speaking, IW posed zero pressure to TES.
But for some reason, when IW appeared on stage at the Busan Esports Arena, cheers erupted from the crowd.
"IW!"
"IW!"
"IW!"
…
From the broadcast cameras, the five IW players looked stunned.
Especially mid laner Serin.
Before even putting on his headset, he heard people shouting his ID from the crowd.
A satisfied smile spread across his face.
Looks like my performance in Turkey was too eye-catching.
Even Korean fans know me now and have become my supporters.
Then this first game—I'll definitely perform well.
He took a sip of water from the cup beside him, cracked his knuckles, and felt eager to begin.
Beating the LPL Spring Split champions would surely earn him attention.
The broadcast then deliberately shifted the camera to the empty seats beside them.
The intent to stir trouble was obvious.
Boos even rang out in the arena.
Hearing the sounds through the stream, the domestic broadcast chat exploded.
"So disgusting."
"This reminds me of what Lwx said—beat them until they're as quiet as a library!"
"Hurry through groups already! I want to see the knockouts! I want to see SKT crying!"
In recent years, IG won the first Worlds title, then FPX, then EDG.
Three championships in four years.
Not 100%, but the vast majority of people had stood up.
No one felt that LCK was unbeatable anymore.
If anything, we were the number one region.
After all, last year's champions were from LPL, not LCK.
So faced with this kind of provocation, there was no reason to back down.
If TES weren't playing remotely, people would've wanted a one-on-one offline already.
As for the on-site host, they rattled off Korean nonstop.
Since it wasn't translated domestically, Chinese viewers relied on their own commentators.
This match was cast by Guan Zeyuan and Rita.
Their pairing was actually pretty refreshing and enjoyable.
"TES versus IW—Brother Guan, what's your take?" Rita immediately tried to set a trap.
Guan Zeyuan opened his mouth, then hesitated.
His reputation wasn't great.
If he praised TES and they somehow underperformed or even lost, wouldn't he get flamed to death?
Might as well joke around and lean fully into his cursed caster persona.
"For this match, all I can say is—those who know, know. IW are the kings of the Turkish league. I'm giving them my vote. I'm more optimistic about IW."
The joke instantly amused the audience.
"Hahahaha, IW just asking if you're scared!"
"They're probably terrified already. Colonel Guan casting his curse from thousands of miles away—how many can withstand that?"
As for TES, even though they were playing online, not a single official referee was missing.
They all stood behind the players.
Only after verification and confirmation did the match begin.
The Korean audience started another round of cheering.
They wanted to see TES lose.
Some had even planned it out—if TES lost, they'd all laugh together.
But that plan collapsed instantly.
Compared to SKT struggling back and forth with their opponents—getting their ADC lane-killed, just as a certain world champion once said: 'Guma is trash'—
TES showed what a true champion from a top league looked like.
This was a slaughter.
It was the first time these Korean spectators truly understood what TES was capable of.
Or rather… what Lin Fan was capable of.
At fourteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds, Lin Fan—playing Zed for the first time—already had a 9–0–2 scoreline.
As for Serin, who wanted to step on Lin Fan to make a name for himself, his hand on the mouse was trembling.
His Zoe was sitting at 0–6.
Absolutely horrifying.
He was committing an epic crime on stage.
There had been gaps before—but never this big in a direct matchup.
People could clearly see that the gap between weak and strong teams was shrinking.
But now, before fifteen minutes, that idea was being completely overturned.
North American casters were screaming at the top of their lungs, repeatedly shouting "Unbelievable!"
This match was pure visual pleasure.
And Zed's killing spree was far from over.
When a massively fed mid-lane Zed started roaming top and bot…
The worst experience wouldn't be the opposing mid—it would be the ADC.
HolyPhoenix's Varus had zero gameplay this match.
The moment he showed in lane, the Master of Shadows appeared from the flank.
Death Mark!
E to shred and slow, autos into Q.
Then Zed snapped back with his ultimate, not even looking back, calmly waiting for that beautiful sound.
Boom!
The second proc exploded.
Varus's HP vanished instantly.
From the moment Varus saw Zed, less than a second had passed.
His skills were eaten whole, and the remaining two seconds were just waiting to die.
Honestly, it was torture.
Zed is meant to be this kind of tormenting champion.
Unlike Talon, who deletes squishies instantly, Zed gives you just a bit of hope.
But no matter how you struggle, overflow damage is overflow damage.
If your HP isn't enough, you die.
Zed's score became 10–0.
As for the Leona nearby, she didn't even know where to go.
Tian had already quietly flanked from behind, cutting off her retreat.
No surprises.
Double Kill.
TES's mid-jungle duo completely controlled the pace.
Wherever they went, they killed.
Six simple words summed up the entire match.
Zed's godlike announcements echoed repeatedly through the arena.
The Busan Esports Arena fell silent.
No screams.
No smiles.
They came to see TES crash and burn—not massacre their opponents.
But reality didn't align with their expectations.
Damn it, wildcard regions are just trash.
IW was definitely the worst team at this MSI.
If SKT played IW, it would be just as easy.
It could only mean Group B was trash, with no strong teams at all.
North American casters, at least, didn't think like that.
Every international event, they were just there for entertainment.
Beyond that, they only hoped NA teams could beat Europe once in a while.
So their commentary stayed fairly objective.
"This is the true Master of Shadows! At this stage of the game, there's no one left who can stop him!"
"I honestly feel like he doesn't even need his ultimate. Just get close and proc Electrocute with abilities, and Varus dies easily…"
"This is a stunning performance. Trust me—I'll remember the ID 'Dine.'"
"This is why I love international tournaments. You get to see players on a level far beyond our domestic leagues."
"Haha, after this match, I think I'll go back and rewatch TES's Spring Split games."
"Oh buddy, same here."
At that moment, Zed moved to the top lane.
Seeing the enemy Aatrox, he instantly swapped shadows, closed the distance, popped Youmuu's, and started hacking away.
One slash took over four hundred HP.
Even for an Eclipse Aatrox, that was unbearable.
Every hit landed squarely on his head.
Yet there was nothing he could do.
Then Duke's Jax jumped in to add damage.
Lin Fan easily secured another kill.
Legendary!
The godlike sound rang out once more.
Zed's kill count reached twelve.
"Hahaha, this feels so good."
"Slap the Korean fans hard. Weren't you yelling so loudly earlier? Why so quiet now?"
"Did you see the camera cut earlier? There were still some international students holding signs."
"LMAO, they didn't even dare show it—quickly switched the camera."
"Premium JackeyLove never disappoints!"
"Swap the mid to Brother Infinite Borders and suddenly everything looks perfect."
The domestic livestream chat felt incredibly satisfied.
This was exactly the kind of face-slapping they wanted.
Of course, this was only the appetizer.
Beating SKT would be even sweeter.
They couldn't wait to see what those keyboard warriors' expressions would look like.
…
The score ballooned to 23–2, with a gold lead of fourteen thousand.
Those two deaths were only because JackeyLove got cocky and charged in alone.
Mark followed to save him and ended up dying too.
It didn't matter.
The overall situation was completely unaffected.
At this stage, everyone knew the outcome.
TES wouldn't throw randomly and give IW a chance.
…
At twenty-three minutes and fourteen seconds, TES—empowered by Baron—steamrolled straight into IW's base and ended the game in one push.
The final kill score froze at 29–2.
Zed alone had seventeen kills.
A record untouched for seven years—broken just like that.
Looking at the final results screen, the title of LPL's number one mid laner was fully deserved.
"Damn, Brother Infinite Borders went way too hard. Serin's probably got PTSD now. But I love it…"
"What do you think? Look at that desperate little gaze—he's probably already thinking about retirement."
"Damn it—did Brother Infinite Borders treat this match like PUBG? Seventeen kills and a chicken dinner?"
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup