Chapter 7: Preying on the Weak and Fearing the Strong—A Rite of Passage in the Workplace

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In the first match of the best-of-three, V5 had the blue side.
The draft phase was nothing extraordinary. Early in the 2022 Spring Split, draft strategies were generally unremarkable, as teams were still exploring the meta. Most bans targeted meta champions and the opponents’ signature picks.
For example, V5’s double circles, Rookie’s two-ball-one-princess, or the meta powerhouse Aphelios.
The 12.2 patch still felt relatively gentle, with no bizarre strategies yet. As the season progresses, more monsters will gradually emerge.
With coaches from both sides analyzing each other, the first three picks were stable:
V5: Rumble, Lee Sin, Aphelios
TES: Jarvan, Jinx, Tahm Kench
By the second round of bans, both teams had nearly wiped out the meta top lane champions. Unlike the original World Championship where mid lane bans were prominent, TES showed great caution toward V5’s top laner Logic after V5’s surprise picks in two consecutive matches.
Not only was Gangplank banned, but even Gragas was denied.
In the fourth pick, TES locked in NAR for top lane.
Karsa’s three staple picks are: Darius, Gangplank, and Gnar. Securing any one of these meant TES’s draft was stable.
“Say, Logic, what confident pick do you have to counter him?” Nofe smiled upon seeing TES’s first pick top laner.
For White Crescent, simply securing one of Karsa’s three staples was a victory, regardless of the pick order. But for Nofe, the key was the counter pick, because he truly understood Logic’s immense talent.
This talent wasn’t just about champion skill.
It was the authentic ability learned from Saint Gunner himself — the courage to pull out any champion suitable for the situation and confidently perform on stage.
In everyday life, you often encounter people who know little but boast loudly during interviews and inflate their abilities when switching jobs. You might despise them, but they somehow climb the ladder step by step.
It’s not about ability but personality differences.
Extroverts act when they are 70% ready, while introverts wait for 120% readiness before trying.
Logic?
He learns by watching, practices by playing, masters by winning, and MVP titles crown his skills.
Young reflexes combined with confidence grant him a high floor even on unfamiliar champions.
Well, that so-called floor is tied to his playstyle.
He is extremely steady.
“Fiora? Finally, a champion I can bully with Fiora. It would be a waste not to pick her.”
“Are you sure?”
PPGod hesitated hearing the choice.
Fiora? How long has it been since Fiora appeared on the pro stage? You might have come from the Gangplank school, but you don’t have to follow Gangplank’s old path, right?
A side note:
Saint Gunner has played 77 different champions in his career, second only to Faker. The third is rumored to be Tony Da Mu, a male star from a neighboring island nation.
“Pick! Absolutely pick!”
PPGod doubted, but Karsa was already cheering with both hands raised.
As a meta scholar, Karsa deeply understood from countless climbing journeys that when a teammate suddenly picks a niche champion, the game is often won.
Especially now, with Logic’s rising fame, the more niche top picks he plays, the greater his reputation grows, ultimately benefiting his teammates.
Just like JKL.
Before JKL joined TES, who cared about other TES players? At best, Knight was somewhat famous; the rest combined couldn’t even outshine the caster Cat Emperor.
This is the star player’s influence.
“So, I’m taking it?”
“Yes, trust Logic, trust Light!”
Rookie enjoyed the excitement but for safety locked in Orianna as the last pick. With Rumble, Fiora, Lee Sin, and Orianna ultimates to coordinate, the lineup looked solid.
Meanwhile, TES added Zoe as their last pick, completing a poke composition.
Final lineups:
V5: Top Fiora, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid Orianna, Bot Aphelios + Rumble
TES: Top Gnar, Jungle Jarvan, Mid Zoe, Bot Jinx + Tahm Kench
The moment the compositions were finalized — or rather, when Fiora was confirmed — the live chat exploded. No one expected to see the niche top laner Fiora on stage in 2022.
[Fiora!?]
[It’s confirmed now, this really is a disciple of Saint Gunner.]
[Three BO3s, seven different top champions so far this Spring Split — this flavor is just right!]
[Light! This is top lane Light! Using diverse champions to entertain viewers while surprising with unconventional tactics to climb ranks — tell me, which other region has a Light like this?]
[This lane matchup feels like a trip back to Season 8.]

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Many have lost memory of the era before the New Year, but Fiora’s last famous moment was at the Season 8 World Championship with TheShy’s Fiora electrifying the casters.
On the caster desk, even Director Guan’s eyes lit up.
The arrival of a niche champion always brings freshness, but as a professional caster, he remained “relatively neutral”:
“Fiora into Gnar? That matchup demands deep wave management. Looking at the comps, TES’s lineup has an easier time. Gnar’s teamfight impact outweighs Fiora’s.”
“This game, watch the bot lane early, then focus on both top laners’ mid-game play.”
With the draft finalized, the first match began swiftly.
No need to mention runes—Fiora’s classic Conqueror and Tenacity. Other points were casually allocated, and the secondary tree remained Biscuit Delivery and Boots.
The mythic item meta favors early power spikes, so top laners race to complete their first major item quickly.
Even though Boots of Speed can only be upgraded after 12 minutes without kills, it still saves 300 gold.
For a penny-pinching top laner, every bit of early economy counts.
At level one, Logic honestly stayed in the top lane bush, watching Karsa farm, neither happy nor upset, simply refusing to engage.
Right!
At level one, Fiora has nothing to say. Waves are full health; Fiora can’t stack her passive, so going out means getting poked for free—extremely weak.
In solo queue, Gnar would just ward the bush and force Fiora to retreat, but this is professional play. Gnar’s ward placement must be cautious, giving Logic’s Fiora some breathing room.
Karsa was no fool either; he touched the wave, then pulled one minion away.
Level one wave management is easy to understand.
If both top laners just last-hit, the three melee minions lose health evenly, allowing Fiora to Q in three times, stacking four passive marks to trade favorably.
But if Gnar manipulates minion health, Fiora’s smooth last-hitting and counter-trading vanish.
Karsa noticed this subtlety.
Yet, Logic wasn’t in a hurry.
He picked Fiora after all—why rush? Take it slow.
Because Fiora is so niche, many have forgotten who she struggles against. But we just need to ask the opposite: Who does Fiora fare well against?
Among melee champions, only Aatrox is manageable; among ranged, including Akshan, Gangplank, and Gnar, all have long reach.
Others, especially tanky bruisers, none are favorable.
Yes.
Fiora is awkward against the “top lane four sisters.”
If words don’t convey the impact, watch Teacher Da Xie’s Fiora solo against Sion—pure, desperate struggle without victory.
Of course, this also depends on the patch.
Early game, if the wave health is right, Fiora tries to trade, and as long as she doesn’t lose, even a 1:1 health exchange is worth it.
If Gnar is in Mega form, she naturally plays more cautiously.
But in Mini Gnar form?
Just charge in recklessly!
“This feels great! It’s been so long since I’ve had a matchup where I get to counter like this. How can it be so fun~”
Indeed, this laning phase truly delighted Logic.
Facing Fiora’s passive-stacking Q trades, Mini Gnar had the upper hand.
Yet, as a pro, even though he couldn’t win trades, Karsa’s positioning was excellent, ensuring that when Fiora engaged, he didn’t lose much health.
However, after a few waves, Karsa began sensing something was off about the opposing top laner.
This doesn’t match the intel!
Before the match, White Crescent told Karsa that the enemy top laner was a utility-focused player, playing cautiously in lane and not giving opportunities mid-game, steady as a fortress.
But now?
This Fiora keeps Q-ing in to bait auto-attacks and E trades.
A “fortress”?
This reckless aggression was reminiscent of the legendary LWX’s perfect-win Fiora (who famously went Fiora and Sejuani mid-lane swap in the 2019 regular season).
“What’s up, Karsa?” Tian frowned, sensing his teammate’s tension and rare for him, spoke up.
“Is the enemy top really a steady-style top laner?”
“Yes, strictly speaking, he’s steady to an almost pathological degree.”
Recalling that Gwen from the Demacia Cup, Tian joked he wanted to avoid V5’s top lane altogether, feeling unlucky.
Looking at the top lane again, at around 2:46, Fiora pushed the wave into tower.
Fine.
Top lane had no opportunities. Better to farm quietly and prepare for a strong tower dive on bot lane!

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After all,
Nalan Wenbo was continuously pressuring bot lane.
Following the early-game setting in “Battle Through the Heavens,” where Xiao Yan couldn’t beat Nalan Wenbo, the bot lane froze the wave near tower and coordinated for unstoppable tower dives.
Soul Tian thought so.
Little did he know, Medusa, who should have stayed in the bot half, had quietly moved top.
Karsa thought the same.
Theoretically, he should protect Xiao Yan’s growth in bot lane, but the situation was controlled by top lane. Not only did Fiora counter Gnar, the bigger point was: don’t just think V5’s top laner is a rookie.
TES’s current top laner is also a rookie.
A rookie?
That’s the best ATM in Summoner’s Rift!
So,
Just as a shady store rejects suggested retail prices, the shady Karsa also rejected Coach Hei Tou’s tactical plan.
He moved up himself.
“Huh?”
“Karsa is moving up to gank top? That’s rare. Since the Spring Split began, Karsa rarely helps top early, but there’s vision in the river. Gnar is a bit hard to catch.”
“Let’s see how V5 coordinates.”
On the caster desk, Director Guan immediately noticed Karsa’s movement.
On the lane, Logic also saw the jungle approaching and began calculating how to take down the opponent.
It’s simple: with numbers advantage, if he lands his E and is willing to flash, Gnar is doomed.
Therefore,
He prepared to use his signature 100% crowd control combo.
Logic’s brow furrowed as his eyes gleamed coldly; his light brown pupils contracted to pinpoints as he muttered:
“I have a move that can move mountains and overturn seas. Dad’s coming!”
With Logic’s shout, Lee Sin appeared in the river bush.
“Boom!”
Newly debuted Karsa’s body tensed, then immediately turned to retreat, flashing his E to escape.
However,
The downside of a long top lane path showed: even with river vision on the approaching jungler, running alone means the enemy eventually catches up.
The rookie’s problem was exposed.
Facing Karsa’s pincer, Karsa hesitated to flash out immediately—a common trait among pros to conserve their flash—but this gave the opponent an opening.
When the distance was right, Karsa’s Jarvan struck first.
Ward planted, displacement by ward, E-flash combo!
No skill was spared; the E-flash was decisive and proactive.
Karsa’s play stunned Gnar.
He expected Fiora to initiate, but the first move was from Lee Sin.
The E landed, slowing Gnar.
At the next moment, Fiora slid in behind minions as stepping stones.
“Swish!”
Gnar had no choice but to flash again to create distance.
But the instant he flashed and moved to the minion closest to his previous spot, Wei Yan saw a flash of silver light.
Immediately, before he could react further, he was stunned by Fiora’s E.
What!?
How was it so fast!?
Fiora’s common combo Q-E-E is simple, but between a master Fiora and an ordinary one, the smoothness of execution creates a vastly different experience for opponents.
There is only one requirement:
Speed!
So fast no one can react in time!
Logic isn’t a master Fiora, but he possesses one trait no other pro player on the Rift has—his youth at 18.
Too fast!
Though prepared to keep distance and avoid Fiora’s E, the flash of steel at that moment still caught him off guard.
Lee Sin cast Q, Fiora auto-attacked.
When Gnar finally recovered from the stun, Lee Sin’s second Q struck, activating the finishing echo.
V5’s Karsa killed TES’s Wayward.
First blood secured!