TT's shotcaller had always been Southwind, and his mind was still clear.
"No matter what, a Syndra with this kind of build won't be that impactful in the late game. Our comp can still hard-engage. In teamfights, we can directly burst Lucian.
From now on, we need to stay focused and not give them openings.
Diana, just keep farming. Don't think about helping lanes get back into the game—that'll only make the deficit grow."
"Okay." Beichuan was thinking the same way.
When you can't help, the most important thing is to secure your own development. He was on Diana—it was easy to find opportunities in teamfights.
Once his items came online, his jungle clear speed increased further.
TT fully turtled up.
With Diana disappearing from the map, Top Esports couldn't easily find picks for a while.
Strangely enough, that was actually good news for TT—the pressure dropped a lot.
Especially for Ucal, who had swapped to top lane. His farm was slowly catching up.
Even after being solo-killed twice, he still reached 100 CS at 12 minutes—completely acceptable.
After all, he was an assassin. As long as his farm was decent, he still posed a threat to squishy targets.
Annoying as it was, Top Esports' tempo never stopped.
If they couldn't find plays in side lanes, they'd take neutral objectives.
They secured the first Infernal Drake.
Right after, Tian rotated to the Rift Herald. With Syndra's help, they took it cleanly.
Since mid turret only had one plate left, there was no point dropping Herald mid.
Tian planned to recall, update his items, then head bot to let JackeyLove farm another wave.
As for mid turret, Lin Fan took it down right on schedule before 14 minutes.
The tempo instantly exploded.
Top Esports' advantage became massive.
Their gold lead hit 4,000.
Mid lane plates were fully taken, plus the 650 gold from first turret—an immediate takeoff.
Bot lane also fully collected turret plates with the help of Rift Herald.
Altogether, that was ten turret plates.
TT, on the other hand, had only gotten one plate from New laning against Ornn.
That alone was a 1,350 gold loss—let alone kills and CS differences.
At that moment, a message appeared on the big screen:
Red side Syndra has slain blue side Zed!
Another solo kill!
As expected, karma came full circle.
Last game, Ucal solo-killed Knight three times.
This game, he was solo-killed three times by dine.
Wawa didn't even know what to say.
He just kept yelling in shock.
Two simple words summed it up—absolute disbelief.
Did Top Esports' mid and support really swap roles?
The livestream chat exploded.
"Waaah, I flamed the wrong guy earlier—my bad!"
"Knight's halo was blinding us. Only now do we realize he was the real problem."
"I've said it before—dine was already a solid support. He just didn't mesh well with JackeyLove. He was never the reason they lost."
"Forget the earlier games. This Syndra is insane—ten thousand times better than that fraud."
"That ult just deleted Zed!"
"Ucal was trash even back on KT. Where did he get the confidence to pick Zed? Isn't this just feeding?"
"He thought his Zed was as flashy as SofM's. That jungle Zed game was wild."
That's how chat always is.
Play poorly, and everyone flames you.
They'll even dig up old grudges.
Play well, and it's nothing but praise.
"We can force Baron at 20 minutes. Let's start setting up vision around Baron."
"So aggressive?" Tian was a little surprised.
"If we drag it out, our comp gets uncomfortable. After 28 minutes it's easy to give them openings. The earlier we take Baron, the faster we push towers." Lin Fan said.
"Yeah, I agree. Around 20 minutes we can force Baron, bait a fight, and if we get a pick, start it immediately."
"If everyone agrees, then let's play it this way."
"Alright."
Lin Fan's performance this game was outstanding. He had completely taken over the pace.
And his logic was sound.
This comp became much harder to execute late game.
The earlier the game ended, the better.
And Syndra was disgustingly fed.
At 18 minutes, four kills in hand, full turret plates, and the highest CS in the game—213.
That kind of economy made Syndra's build absolutely luxurious.
Crown, Sorcerer's Shoes, Shadowflame.
He even had extra gold for a Blasting Wand and a Stopwatch.
With Deathcap queued as his third item, not buying Stopwatch would've been reckless.
It was obvious—they were committing to a fight at 20 minutes.
"Just looking at Syndra's items makes me gasp. Whoever walks up just dies."
"Top Esports know Syndra is in absolute peak form. They've started full vision control around Baron. With this lead, they're fully qualified to rush Baron at 20."
TT sensed it immediately.
They were behind in items. They could give up other objectives—but Baron was non-negotiable.
Once Baron fell, Top Esports would have enough power to siege straight into the base.
So they had no choice but to force their way over.
No vision, blue side positioning, and a disadvantage—it was a nightmare setup.
Top Esports didn't hesitate.
At exactly 20 minutes, they started Baron!
Everyone was shocked.
They thought it was vision pressure to bait a fight—but they actually pulled the trigger.
At this stage, Baron was fragile, and Top Esports shredded it incredibly fast.
By the time TT arrived, Baron was already down to 2,000 HP.
"Kill them! Kill them!" Lin Fan shouted in comms.
Coin-flipping Smite while behind was the dumbest option.
With Ornn tanking, Top Esports' overall health bars were still decent.
TT clenched their teeth.
With Baron helping, it was basically a 6v5.
If they didn't fight now, they'd never get another chance.
If they won, Baron could flip the game.
And with Rumble's Equalizer in this terrain—it was devastating.
Both teams clashed.
Ornn, already low, stood at the very front.
Facing five players' damage, his HP evaporated.
Seeing Ornn drop first made Top Esports fans' hearts sink.
With such a huge lead—why force Baron at 20 minutes?
Why not play it slow, stack dragons, then take Baron cleanly later?
Ucal's eyes were locked onto Syndra.
He knew—it wasn't his time to go in yet…
And then—
From inside the Baron pit, Syndra flashed over the wall.
Her ultimate locked straight onto Jinx.
Five spheres slammed directly into her body.
Instant delete.
In that moment, countless minds went completely blank.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup