According to the original timeline, TES should have won this match easily, ending their losing streak and beginning their northern campaign.
But now, something clearly feels off.
At 3:47, Knight's Viktor was ganked by the jungler. After burning Flash, he limped back under his turret with less than a quarter of his health remaining.
Yet instead of recalling, he greedily stayed to catch a wave.
Ucal calculated the damage perfectly and used LeBlanc to dive the tower and secure the kill.
Staying in lane with low HP in front of LeBlanc?
That was absurd.
Knight had actually been solo-killed by a second-tier mid laner.
Viewers were stunned by the scene.
The chat exploded.
"This was never a support problem—it's mid! The mid lane is the real issue!"
"How does he get solo-killed like that? What is Knight even doing?"
"What level is TES now? Only two players can play, and Knight is still supposed to be mid? He can't do it! No ability at all! First killed by Ucal, next he'll be killed by Teacher Ma—absolutely shameless."
…
Backstage, Luo Sheng's face was dark.
Knight had snuck out again last night, and now his in-game state was this terrible.
If LeBlanc continued snowballing, she would be an enormous threat to the backline in teamfights.
In this game, JackeyLove was on Sivir. Shield or not, if LeBlanc jumped on him, he would still die.
Especially with Karma as the support—her protection was limited.
The double-enchanter bot lane had built a huge advantage, but it couldn't offset the constant deaths in mid.
Viktor was a scaling champion to begin with, and feeding LeBlanc a kill meant the lane was essentially over.
Ucal completely crushed Knight this game.
Knight became the ultimate scapegoat.
By the 30-minute mark, LeBlanc was already godlike, with an absurd build—including a fully completed Rabadon's Deathcap.
In the final teamfight, TES's double-enchanter lineup tried to charge forward and force an engage.
The surprise attack worked at first—they instantly deleted Renekton in the front line.
But LeBlanc appeared from the side and killed the full-HP Sivir with just three abilities.
Once Sivir fell, TES's damage completely collapsed.
Was anyone really expecting a 0–6 Viktor to carry the fight?
Obviously not.
TT took Game 1 without breaking a sweat.
Ucal was grinning from ear to ear.
With a 1–6 team record, his own stats hadn't been great either—but this game was pure bliss.
From start to finish, he slaughtered everything in sight.
Was LeBlanc really this strong?
His lane opponent was Knight, hailed as the strongest domestic mid laner.
Solo-killing him three times—his rating was definitely going up.
Life was good.
…
Neutral viewers were having a great time, while TES fans felt utterly miserable.
Before the Spring Split began, everyone had high expectations after seeing the roster announcement.
The dead weight was gone.
This was supposed to be a great year.
Instead, they opened with six straight losses—and now it looked like seven.
Utter despair.
They lost?
Lin Fan slowly shook his head, unable to believe it.
Were they really about to lose today as well? That would make it seven losses in a row.
TES48 was really heading to the stage for public humiliation.
After days of slacking off, his champion pool had expanded even further—Robot and Vladimir were now maxed.
But if the mid lane problem wasn't fixed, what difference would swapping in a support make?
Mark and JackeyLove had actually coordinated well in the previous game, holding pressure and taking bot turret before 14 minutes.
But mid lane decided who lived and who died.
In the Worlds meta, it would be all about mid–jungle anyway.
ADs were just icing on the cake—not the ones who saved games.
Lin Fan opened the system panel.
Host: Lin Fan
ID: dine
Champion Pool:
Heimerdinger (100%)
Vladimir (100%)
Blitzcrank (100%)
Syndra (100%)
Varus (100%)
Passive Bonuses:
Awareness +20%
Mechanics +20%
Farming +5%
He shook his head.
As a support, he really only had one conventional option.
Even if he went on stage, what could he change?
"Lin Fan, you originally played mid," Luo Sheng suddenly said, his face dark since the 20-minute mark.
"If we swap you in now, do you have confidence?"
"Knight's current state makes it hard for him to keep playing."
"I've checked your recent match history—you've played every role, and you have a few mid champions.
You shouldn't have much trouble laning against Ucal. Just hold steady and don't mess up."
"Well… I can't really play most mid champs," Lin Fan replied.
"If I'm mid, I need Vladimir, Syndra, or even Heimerdinger. Anything else, I can't play."
Lin Fan knew his limits.
If he were forced onto Corki or Viktor mid, he'd perform even worse than Knight.
"I know," Luo Sheng said.
"I'm not putting you in to take the blame. Just play what you're good at.
Don't overthink the lane—farm safely."
At that moment, the players from the stage returned to the lounge.
Knight sat down without saying a word.
Everyone looked drained—even JackeyLove.
Six straight losses had broken them mentally, and now this was how the seventh started.
"You all need to wake up," Luo Sheng said sharply.
"TES is not the TES you imagined. If we can't even beat TT, what Worlds are we talking about?
Stop being afraid. I'd rather you lose standing than win kneeling."
"Our problems in Game 1 were huge, but they can be adjusted.
Don't put so much pressure on yourselves."
"For Game 2, we're making a roster change.
Knight, sit down and rest."
The speech barely registered—everyone had heard this kind of talk too many times.
But a mid-lane substitution?
They didn't even have a substitute mid laner.
So who was going in?
"Game 2, Lin Fan is coming on."
Lin Fan?
Wasn't that insane?
Putting a support into mid lane?
But considering Knight's recent form—and Lin Fan's standout moments in scrims—it didn't seem impossible.
…
"Welcome back, everyone," the caster announced.
"TES vs TT Game 2 is about to begin, and we've just received confirmation:
TES has made a substitution—Knight is off, and dine will be playing mid lane."
The moment those words were spoken, both the arena and the livestream chat exploded.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup