As the loading screen appeared, Ucal recalled what the coach had just said.
"Look, he only has two champions he can really pull out. We've banned them both. Now he has nothing left and can only pick something like Varus mid.
They're lambs standing at the edge of a cliff, and we're hungry wolves. Top Esports only have two choices—get eaten by us, or jump off the cliff.
Obviously, they chose to jump. This game is secured!"
"I also reviewed the last game. As long as he plays aggressively early, just give up the wave and let Beichuan gank mid.
This game I'm giving him Xin Zhao. Gank mid once and he dies once.
As long as we get one kill, our mid–jungle advantage will completely explode."
Ucal clenched his mouse tightly.
That's right—the coach was absolutely correct.
Picking a mid-lane Varus meant there were no champions left to play.
And this game, he was on LeBlanc—his form felt hot.
He was going to crush the opponent directly.
Meanwhile, in TT's backstage lounge, the coach was leisurely sipping his energy drink.
This time, they had calculated the opponent's champion pool perfectly.
White Moonlight thought he could trick them—turns out he was just a comfort-pick specialist.
Ban both of his picks and he'd be finished.
Those "secret weapons" White Moonlight supposedly revealed after Game 2?
Pure nonsense.
He was probably beating his chest in regret right now.
This match would ultimately be his victory…
The TT coach smiled smugly.
But once the game officially started, that smile slowly vanished.
It felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss—his heart pounding, yet cold.
"Damn it! Why does his Varus do so much damage?! Why?!"
Watching what unfolded on the monitor, the TT coach couldn't help but shout in the lounge.
He had thought the opponent was free food.
But the situation was completely out of control.
At the same time, in Top Esports' backstage room, Luo Sheng's lips curled upward uncontrollably.
He didn't overreact.
Everything was going exactly as he had calculated—gaining an advantage was only natural.
The tension in his chest finally eased.
The losing streak would end here.
Finally… finally… they were going to win one.
…
"Another solo kill! Yet another one! That damage is absurd—LeBlanc was almost half HP and just got deleted!"
"To be fair, Xin Zhao came to gank there. LeBlanc stepped up to trade HP, but just got instantly blown up?"
"With three stacks of Varus' passive triggered, the damage is terrifying. Combined with the bonus damage from W, the execute effect is honestly disgusting!"
"Solo-killed at three minutes… feels like Ucal is walking the same path as last game—maybe even worse."
"LeBlanc shouldn't be this bad, right?"
"Hard to say. Dine's Varus skill accuracy is insane. All I can say is that his form today is completely maxed out."
Wawa had actually guessed right.
Ucal couldn't stabilize mid lane at all.
After eating two Qs, even without triggering W's passive, LeBlanc's HP dropped straight into Varus' kill range.
LeBlanc has high burst.
But Varus' execute threshold is even higher!
With the wave pushed under tower, just a few attacks triggered the passive.
An arrow pierced straight through the heart—cold and final.
A tower dive solo kill!
Mid lane collapsed again.
As for Xin Zhao, who had been picked specifically to help mid, he could only swallow the wave under tower in tears.
There was nothing he could do.
But the seemingly harmless Varus hit level six.
A Q–R combo, followed by E to trigger the passive and refresh cooldowns.
A fully charged second Q, empowered by W, directly erased a full-HP Xin Zhao.
Varus was on a killing spree!
Ucal put on a mask of pain.
Brother, you ate my wave and then ran over to donate a kill.
How am I supposed to play now?
A Xin Zhao–LeBlanc mid–jungle duo couldn't even suppress Varus.
Both went back to base empty-handed.
All the ambition Ucal had during the loading screen vanished completely.
A LeBlanc getting tower-dived while playing defensively—it was freezing to the core.
And there was no way to change the situation.
By the time the game reached eleven minutes, mid turret was already gone.
After updating his items, Varus headed straight bot.
The tempo was almost identical to last game—the only difference was that mid fell even faster.
Which was natural.
Varus takes towers much faster than Syndra.
The difference this time was Xin Zhao engaging bot lane, activating his ultimate and unloading everything onto Varus.
After hitting him for ages, Xin Zhao froze.
Varus had only lost half his HP.
And Xin Zhao's ultimate had already expired…
A glance at the items made his head spin.
Iceborn Gauntlet?
TL: Gave armor, mana, ability haste, and health
Spellblade passive: After using an ability, your next basic attack created a slow zone (ice field) around the target, slowing enemies inside it
No wonder there was burn damage when he stuck close—and no wonder the HP wouldn't drop.
TT got blown wide open.
Three deaths plus bot turret lost.
The game instantly collapsed.
With two more kills, Varus completely took off.
Before fifteen minutes, he already had Iceborn Gauntlet and Nashor's Tooth.
Seeing LeBlanc mid, he just walked up and unloaded a full combo.
Ucal truly couldn't fight back or escape.
Looking at his darkened screen again, his expression wasn't as twisted anymore.
But inside, he was completely numb.
Varus was even taking towers alone in front of the tier-two turret.
As an ADC killer, Xin Zhao didn't dare come anywhere near to defend.
With the growing power gap, Top Esports began pillaging the map.
The gold difference continued to widen.
And Top Esports' comp scaled very well into the late game.
Once their power spike arrived, TT quickly lost all ability to resist.
At twenty-eight minutes, TT had already lost two lanes of inhibitors.
TL: Inhibitors are like outposts in League of Legends.
Forced by minion pressure, they had to send their jungler to check Baron.
But the moment Beichuan's Xin Zhao stepped in, he was instantly deleted.
With Baron's dying roar, Top Esports secured Baron.
They surged forward with Baron buff, unstoppable.
One push straight through TT's base.
The moment TT's Nexus exploded, Luo Sheng finally couldn't hold back.
"Ah—!"
He shouted it out.
From the Spring Split until now—
The most expensive roster, taking the harshest beating.
Six straight losses.
One more loss and he would've been fired, packing his bags and going home.
Pressure from management.
Pressure from fans.
Doubt from his own players…
Luo Sheng felt like he was on the verge of collapse.
Thankfully, the losing streak had finally ended.
Everything was finally turning for the better.
Lin Fan… Lin Fan.
I didn't expect you to still stick to your heart and want to keep playing mid.
He glanced at Knight beside him and made a decision.
Then I'll give you another chance.
After all—
You may be a substitute,
But you became Top Esports' savior.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup