Rise

s Mid-Jungle combo, the synergy between Rake and Mafa, that was their signature.
One of the deadliest weapons in their arsenal.

In nearly every game that Team SSK played, it was the Rake-Mafa roams that helped the entire team get ahead and then snowball.
Their coordination and synergy was perfect.
That scary, eerie perfect.
To anyone watching and anyone playing against them, it was like Rake and Mafa could read each other’s minds.
This particular game against KG was no exception to that strategy.
After LeBlanc and Rek’Sai ganked top lane to kill God Roundy’s Riven, Team SSK started to snowball.
10 minutes in, SSK had already pulled ahead with a gold lead of 4,000.
12 minutes in, SSK claimed and killed the first Dragon.
15 minutes into the game, the gold lead had widened to 6,000.
By 20 minutes in the game, it widened even further to 8,000.
The gap between Team SSK and Team KG turned from a small advantage to an ever-growing chasm.
It also represented the difference in skill between the two teams.

Rake’s macro gameplay was so overwhelming that it transcended this one game against Team KG.
He wasn’t just crushing them in one game, he used one move to dominate the entire series.
And he wasn’t just trying to display Team SSK’s might to Team KG.
The point was to push every team watching, every player past, present, and future with one play.
And it worked. Too strong! That was the single thought going through the minds of every player on every team watching this game. 

A perfect Mid-Jungle duo.
A flawless play that turned the entire game around for Team SSK.
Even their Gnar who had been losing in the early game phase, managed to regain his footing.
By the time mid-game rolled around, he was throwing out beautiful multi-Champion stuns that helped Team SSK win several teamfights.

The snowball that Rake’s LeBlanc had started turned into an avalanche for Team KG.
They struggled in vain, trying to turn things around.
God Roundy tried his very best to use his Riven to dive SSK’s backline, take out their main damage-dealers.
But it was all for nothing.
Team SSK was an anaconda, slowly wrapping around them, crushing their bones and squeezing the life out of them.
Team KG was powerless against them.
No amount of struggle could stop the noose that was tightening around their necks.
KG was struggling with all their might and trying their best to fight back.
Tian Tian was also doing his best to dive the enemy’s backline.
However, SSK was like an unbreakable noose slowly wrapping around their necks.

Finally.
After 31 minutes of futile thrashing, the victory screen floated up on the screen as KG’s Blue Nexus exploded with chaotic energies.
KG lost the first game.
The series became 0-1.

This loss was heavy.
The weight of defeat settled down on all of the Chinese fans, suffocating them.
Despite the reality that was evident to everyone, though, there were still those eternal optimists who refused to give up hope and tried to reassure the other’s online.

「it’s fine, it’s only one game」

「This is abest of five!」

「there’s still hope! Don’t give up!」

「roundy players really well! As long he carried a little harder!」

「we can still win!」

However, these hollow words of comfort proved to be empty.
Their hopes were completely shattered by once the second game in the series started.
4 minutes into that second game, Tian Tian’s Rumble was ganked by Team SSK’s Elise and Leona and was instantly sent back to the fountain.

《First Blood!》

The rest of the game went completely downhill for Team KG.
Just like the first one.
6 minutes into it, Mafa’s Elise roamed top again, this time with Rake’s Fizz in tow.
They circled behind Tian Tian’s tower and killed his Rumble again.
Rumble was 0/2/0.
He was clearly being targeted, that much was obvious.
SSK knew that God Roundy was KG’s shining hope, and they wanted to crush that early on.
But there was nothing that the rest of KG could do to help.
Tian Tian’s top lane was completely shut down during the early game.
The rest of the game only got progressively worse for Team KG. 

10 minutes: The gold gap increased to 4,000 in SSK’s favour.

15 minutes: A team fight broke out around the Dragon Pit.
Rake’s Fizz initiated the fight by picking off Konjac’s Jinx, instantly putting KG at a disadvantage.
SSK won the fight 4-to-1 and pulled ahead even further. 

27 minutes: The game ended.
SSK was one game away from winning the matchup, and KG had a fat doughnut on their hands.

The Chinese fans watching felt their chests tighten.
Some were so nervous that they started shaking.
One more loss and KG was out.
Was there any hope left? Could KG pull a miracle comeback? The answer was no.
Cold and cruel reality snuffed out the dying embers of hope.

The 3rd game started with an invade.
Team SSK pushed through KG’s jungle and a Level 1 teamfight broke out.
There was a fire-fight! And a massacre.
Team SSK picked up 3 kills, two for their top Hecarim and one for their midlane Yasuo.
Team KG didn’t manage to get any kills in that fight.
KG had fallen behind before the game even started, and the fat lady had finished warming up and started belting out the first notes of her opera.

10 minutes: The gold gap was 4,000. 

At 20 minutes: The gold gap increased to 10,000.

Then, game over.
When the purple victory emblem floated up over KG’s ruined Nexus, the Chinese fans watching online fell silent.
KG was knocked out of the League of Legends Season 5 World Championship Semi-finals with a score of 0-3.
A clean sweep.
Many of the Chinese pros watching World grimaced and looked away.
Countless Chinese fans online felt their hearts slowly turn cold, as if their entire world had turned gray.
KG had lost.
The LPL had lost.
They were completely crushed by Team SSK without any chance of fighting back.