"FPX will most likely run Gragas in the jungle here. After Beichuan was sent back to TT, their mid–jungle pairing with Clid and Gori was basically locked in. Those two are practically inseparable. That actually takes a lot of pressure off Commander Xiang," Miller said as he analyzed FPX's first three picks.
"Because FPX swapped junglers, their mid–jungle synergy has gone up. I feel like Rise of Kingdoms Bro is going to be under a lot of pressure this game."
"So the mid-lane matchup definitely needs to be more aggressive. The Syndra Rise of Kingdoms Bro used earlier was actually really good." Zhao Junri had just finished speaking when TES locked in Syndra as their third pick.
"As expected, TES still goes with Syndra. If Rise of Kingdoms Bro can keep up his previous performance, mid lane will be very loud this game. He really does play this champion extremely well."
The commentators in the studio continued discussing back and forth, while the live audience and viewers in the stream chat were also buzzing with conversation.
By this point, the second round of ban–pick had already ended.
Since TES was openly drafting double carries, FPX naturally targeted Tian's jungle Hecarim, then followed up by banning Duke's Gnar.
With that, the ban–pick phase came to an end.
TES chose to ban out Night Owl Poppy and Lissandra—two troublesome mid-lane champions that pair extremely well with jungle plays.
FPX's current mid–jungle setup was still modeled after the old Doinb–Tian template.
It was actually quite easy to target. As long as the mid–jungle was stronger than the opponent's, there usually wouldn't be any major issues.
On top of that, the real Tian was on TES. Clid was just FPX's replacement, so Luo Sheng's second-round ban–pick plan was very clear.
Since it wasn't ruled out that Gragas could be flexed between top and jungle, TES locked in Gwen with their fourth pick. Even after being nerfed, Gwen was still a Tier 1 top-lane pick, and in the right hands she was terrifying.
For example, mid-table teams like WBG—at least when facing WBG, no team dared to let this champion through.
As a result, TheShy continued to maintain his 100% win rate on Gwen this season.
FPX locked in Graves and Azir with their fourth and fifth picks, which pushed Gragas up to the top lane.
Luo Sheng had anticipated this possibility, but he didn't expect FPX's mid–jungle to give up early-game confrontation entirely.
It seemed Lin Fan's recent performances had been far too exaggerated, scaring the opponents into opting for Azir to farm safely instead.
With this setup, FPX's entire engage relied on Gragas, leaning heavily toward a defensive counterattack composition.
After all, with Tahm Kench's Devour, Jinx was extremely well-protected.
Since that was the case, TES needed to increase their intensity. Hecarim had already been banned, and Tian's Olaf wasn't particularly impressive. Unsure whether it would work, they ultimately went with a safe, balanced choice—Jarvan IV.
With the final pick of Jarvan IV locked in, both teams' compositions were set.
The coaches from both sides walked to center stage and shook hands, and the game entered the loading screen.
Blue Side FPX:
Top: Gragas
Jungle: Graves
Mid: Azir
Bot Lane: Jinx + Tahm Kench
Red Side TES:
Top: Gwen
Jungle: Jarvan IV
Mid: Syndra
Bot Lane: Zeri + Yuumi
At this moment, the broadcast camera swept across both teams' player booths.
When it stopped on Lin Fan, many people couldn't help but laugh.
Lin Fan was sitting there yawning repeatedly, looking completely lethargic.
"It's over. It's already practice time. Something's wrong—my hands are itching. I can't control the urge to parry."
"Earlier I felt relieved when I saw the mid-lane swap, but looking at Rise of Kingdoms Bro's condition now… my heart's all over the place."
"I'm numb. Does TES even have a normal mid laner? From start to finish they're all just weird."
However, as the big screen switched to the in-game view, fans at the venue—organized by supporter groups—began cheering loudly for their teams.
"TES! Let's go!"
"TES! Let's go!"
"FPX! Let's go!"
"FPX! Let's go!"
There was still a significant gap in fan numbers. TES's cheers clearly overwhelmed FPX's.
After all, FPX was no longer a championship roster, and JackeyLove had an enormous fanbase.
Even among champion ADCs, there were still differences.
Once the cheers died down, both sides finished buying their starting items and rushed out from the fountain.
Clid immediately played extremely aggressively, leading three teammates to invade the lower jungle.
At level one, Yuumi was simply too weak to contribute anything.
"Damn, they're playing this aggressive at level one?" Tian hurriedly retreated.
Seeing what was happening on the minimap, Lin Fan quickly moved down from mid to support.
Better to secure positioning first—the blue buff could be decided later.
If it really wasn't possible, they'd have to give it up.
As FPX launched this proactive invasion, fans on both sides stared at the big screen, tension rising.
If a level-one fight broke out, the result could almost decide the entire direction of the match.
Normally, teams avoid level-one fights because of the uncertainty.
FPX's sudden strike was clearly planned.
"Back, back, back!"
"I can't get out here. They've surrounded me from this angle and slowed me. Even if I flash, I might not escape."
Tian's Jarvan IV was intercepted, and under the attacks of two players, his health dropped to half instantly.
Flashing wasn't a great option either, since there were enemies on the flank.
JackeyLove made a decisive call to abandon Tian. Staying wouldn't save him, and it could even lead to a collapse where two more players got caught.
That kind of loss was unacceptable.
Seeing the situation, Lin Fan turned back toward mid lane.
The lower jungle was lost, and Tian had given up first blood. The only good news was that the kill went to Tahm Kench, which had minimal impact on lane matchups.
The real disaster was the jungle.
The entire lower jungle would be wiped clean. Clid's Graves would be fully fed, snowballing outrageously.
"FPX's sudden invasion completely caught TES off guard. Tian's jungle has exploded—his entire jungle is gone. That's an insane amount of pressure," the commentator said.
"TES's bot side pressure is also huge. Jarvan won't come down here. The wave is hard to push, and Zeri plus Yuumi has no lane priority against Jinx and Tahm Kench. This feels awful. FPX might even be able to dive bot at level three."
With Yuumi as support, getting tower-dived is extremely risky, especially when Tahm Kench can tank with his E.
"Actually, the pressure on Rise of Kingdoms Bro in mid is also enormous. Syndra should be suppressing Azir, but with Jarvan missing a jungle rotation, he can't come mid to help shove the wave. Azir should be able to farm safely for a while," Miller said as he adjusted his glasses.
"All I can say is FPX came very well-prepared for this match."
This early game situation poured a bucket of cold water over TES's massive fanbase.
TES had just secured two consecutive wins and seemed to be back in form—yet right from the opening, the disadvantage was already huge.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup