As SKT took their seats, TES also connected to the game under the referee's instructions.
Opposite of their first encounter, SKT were now on the blue side with absolute draft advantage, so they came into this match with a do-or-die mindset.
They wanted to wash away their previous humiliation and change the global audience's perception of them. Even if they only advanced as second seed from the Rumble Stage, they wanted everyone to know that they were fifty-fifty with the first-place team!
Seated in the middle, Faker looked visibly excited. After two days of adjustments, he had finally found the hero that suited him best, and he was just waiting to unleash it in today's match.
As the venue music swelled, both sides officially entered the BP phase.
SKT did something different from before and directly banned Twisted Fate.
This move surprised people slightly. Everyone could tell that TES planned to keep letting RateTuBro take Twisted Fate all the way through, avoiding exposing their tactical system and saving it for the semifinals or finals. Other teams were actually happy to see this, because as long as Lin Fan picked Twisted Fate, they felt they still had a chance to win.
TES stuck to their previous strategy and directly banned Jayce. Zeus, as SKT's most stable player, would be a major instability factor if given a highly aggressive top-lane champion.
As for Faker in mid lane, Luo Sheng didn't take him too seriously. With Lin Fan in mid, no matter what SKT tried, they wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble.
Both sides quickly entered the pick phase.
SKT's first pick was decisive, instantly locking in Kennen for the top lane.
This champion had plenty of room to operate in top lane, wasn't easy to counter in lane, and with the right items, a single lightning-flash engage could instantly melt the enemy backline.
Most importantly, he could synergize with Faker's upcoming mid-lane pick to create cleanup opportunities.
"Kennen? They didn't prioritize Aphelios for bot lane?" Wawa said in surprise.
"Maybe bot lane priority isn't that high," Wang Duoduo replied.
The moment those words came out, the livestream chat exploded.
"Hahaha, so real! Gumayusi really doesn't deserve first-pick Aphelios. Priority definitely goes to top lane."
"Gumayusi seriously cracks me up. This is the world's number one ADC that the LCK recommended?"
"SKT has really fallen. Faker hasn't been the Dark Demon King for a long time now."
…
Amid the casters' commentary and the barrage of chat messages, the first three picks on both sides were quickly locked in.
TES locked in Aphelios and Lulu for bot lane on picks one and two.
JackeyLove played aggressively by nature, so after careful consideration, Luo Sheng still gave Mark Lulu, aiming to protect JackeyLove.
SKT locked in Viego and Akali on picks two and three.
TES then took Renekton as their third pick.
"If Renekton goes against Kennen, that's always been a classic top-lane matchup. I think it's okay—he can hold pressure, but it still feels a bit lacking," Wang Duoduo commented.
"Yeah, but TES has always been mid-lane centric, so Renekton isn't a big problem," came the reply.
In the second ban phase, seeing that TES hadn't revealed their mid laner yet, SKT decisively banned Vladimir and Azir.
Akali was weak early on. If the opponent picked a scaling mid, it would be extremely troublesome later.
Aphelios alone was manageable, but adding Azir or Vladimir would be far harder to deal with.
TES locked in Hecarim as their fourth pick, saving the counterpick for mid lane.
SKT then chose the classic bot-lane duo: Varus and Thresh.
It looked fairly average, but stable in lane and not easy to get killed early.
However, TES's fifth pick shocked everyone…
Gwen's portrait appeared on the big screen!
Fifth pick—Scissor Girl!
Kennen versus Gwen was one of the most classic top-lane matchups of this MSI.
But if Gwen was picked, what was Renekton's role supposed to be?
For a moment, everyone's brains short-circuited.
Against Akali, whether Renekton mid or Gwen mid could both work.
Before level six, Akali couldn't win the fight. After six, Renekton's ultimate boosted his health, often preventing Akali's execute and leading to countless counter-kill scenarios.
"It should be mid-lane Renekton. RateTuBro has used Renekton before…"
Before Wang Duoduo even finished speaking, Renekton was swapped to mid lane.
Confirmed—mid Renekton!
Rare, but not problematic. After all, the comp was player-selected.
TES had Hecarim to engage, Renekton as the second diver, and Aphelios plus Gwen for cleanup—overall, a very solid composition.
And after nine straight wins, what was wrong with practicing a new comp?
Thus, both team compositions were finalized.
Blue side SKT: Top Kennen, Jungle Viego, Mid Akali, Bot Varus and Thresh.
Red side TES: Top Gwen, Jungle Hecarim, Mid Renekton, Bot Aphelios and Lulu.
…
Faker stared at the matchup screen, slowly narrowing his eyes.
Renekton?
Rare in mid lane, but undeniably clunky.
Against the agile Akali, there wasn't much to fear.
Especially with Press the Attack Renekton—strong early, but the longer it dragged on, the better it became for Akali.
This game favored him. No rush—take it slow.
He quickly bought his items, even greedily picking up a Dark Seal, then followed his team out of fountain.
Lin Fan arrived mid immediately. When he saw Akali's Dark Seal, he froze briefly, then broke into an evil grin.
The camera caught it perfectly.
For a moment, no one understood why Tu Bro suddenly smiled.
Nothing major happened at level one. As the minion waves arrived, aside from bot lane helping with the jungle start, top and mid both returned to their lanes.
At 1:30, the minion wave met mid.
The minions began their standoff.
Lin Fan knew Akali's Q range was 550 units, so he positioned himself at a very delicate distance.
One more step forward and Faker could hit him—but doing so to proc passive would draw minion aggro and take Renekton's damage.
The trade would be a loss.
But without proccing passive, Akali's Q was meaningless and would disrupt the wave. Lin Fan could then just back off, wait for the wave to push, and freeze near tower.
At that point, Faker's situation would become miserable.
However, the veteran Faker didn't throw out skills first, instead weaving back and forth in front.
From the audience's perspective, the two mids just kept dancing in place—neither moving, neither engaging. A strangely harmonious scene.
Ultimately, Renekton was simply weak at level one. His Q damage and sustain were decent, but the cooldown was long and heavily reliant on Fury.
So there was little direct interaction mid.
Bot lane, however, was a different story.
TES played the lane extremely aggressively. JackeyLove piloted Aphelios with Calibrum, constantly poking Varus while weaving in and out. Gumayusi was completely rattled, losing health nonstop and having no idea what to do next.
Without hesitation, he retreated under tower.
MSI hadn't built his confidence—instead, he looked more lost with each game.
No one could tell whether he was truly declining or if this was his real level, only hidden before because LCK bot lanes were weaker.
But one thing he knew: if he kept getting bullied like this, SKT would kick him.
No ADC in the club's history had ever played this embarrassingly.
So even if it meant losing experience, he refused to risk dying.
JackeyLove was also confused. He hadn't expected the opponent to be this timid—just a few pokes and they ran.
No matter. Scale up and Aphelios would completely crush Varus.
With an advantage, the bot-lane gap would only keep widening.
As time ticked to 3:40, both mid laners hit level three.
The observer finally shifted the camera back to mid.
Normally, level three meant a small skirmish.
Especially for Renekton—this was when he'd look to trade, with better Fury, usually dashing in, stunning, comboing, then dashing back for a clean trade.
Faker focused completely.
When Renekton came in, he planned to E back, dodge, then return with an Electrocute proc, using Shroud to avoid follow-up damage—classic leash-the-dog play.
His plan was perfect.
But he never expected Renekton's opener not to be E—but Flash W!
With red Fury, Renekton bit straight down on Akali!
The strike stunned her for 1.5 seconds and instantly procced Press the Attack.
Under the Vulnerable debuff, damage taken increased by eight percent!
Auto attack into Slice—Akali's HP dropped below one-third. Then a Q sweep!
Faker's face changed as he cast Shroud, but Lin Fan stayed calm, standing still at the center.
Eventually, Faker panicked, E'ing backward and revealing himself. Lin Fan seized the fleeting moment, dashed again, and finished with an auto.
First Blood!
Mid-lane solo kill.
The gray screen reflected Faker's pale face.
Solo killed again.
Looking at Renekton, still at nearly three-quarters health, Faker's mind filled with question marks.
Why was the damage not even on the same level?
And Flash W—what was that?
Who plays Renekton like this at level three?
You were that confident the damage was enough?
What he didn't realize was that Dark Seal had already put him on Lin Fan's kill list from level one.
"Holy shit, Tu Bro solo killed Faker again!"
"Dine's champion pool is impossible to read. Who knew he'd be this good on Renekton?"
"Press the Attack Renekton is insane. Try it and you'll know—build Prowler's Claw and it's disgusting."
"Honestly, Akali's best start is Doran's Shield. I just didn't expect Faker to buy Dark Seal…"
"Normally Renekton can't touch her at all, but Dark Seal rush was too greedy."
"It's been obvious from earlier games—their levels aren't even close."
…
With healthy HP and Renekton's sustain, Lin Fan didn't recall, instead stacking Fury and pushing the wave.
Tian waited in the mid brush, watching to see if Faker would give another chance—or if Viego would come.
As long as SKT showed up, it was an opportunity.
Oner saw his mid laner sweating, and with Renekton having burned Flash, thought this might be their opening.
He moved Viego toward mid, calling it out and pinging the map.
Faker felt like he'd found salvation.
He positioned deliberately, trying to bait Lin Fan into trading.
Once Renekton used E, he'd be meat on the chopping board.
But the opponent stayed cautious, giving no opening.
Thirty seconds passed. Oner grew impatient.
"Hyung, should we force it? We have double Flash—if we connect, he's dead!"
Faker agreed.
If Flash couldn't turn the disadvantage around, saving it was pointless. It would only delay the inevitable.
And Faker might not even need to use his.
With Renekton playing so safe, Hecarim probably wasn't nearby.
This might be their best chance.
So they committed.
From the god's-eye view, the Hecarim lurking behind was crystal clear to the audience.
"No, don't!"
Korean fans clenched their fists, shouting desperately, hoping their voices could pierce the soundproof booths…
But the broadcast delay made it all too late.
On stage, Faker and Oner's faces turned ashen.
Everything was supposed to go according to plan.
Then a horse burst out of the brush!
With red Fury, Renekton turned, dashed, and bit Viego with W. Combined with Hecarim's kick, Viego's HP instantly plunged to near zero.
Worse yet, Hecarim still had Ghost. Even flashing wouldn't save him.
After brief consideration, Oner didn't burn Flash.
So the kill went to Renekton.
Although Tian had spent nearly a minute camping mid, securing the kill for Lin Fan made it all worthwhile.
If necessary, they could even risk diving Akali.
As long as someone got gold, it was worth it—especially with such a massive wave.
"Nice, that countergank was clean."
"Haha, I figured with Fan Bro lacking Flash, pushing would be dangerous, so I waited here," Tian said, scratching his head. After so much experience, he'd learned the basics.
Mid lane is daddy—play around it!
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup