With the enemy support's Control Ward known to be in the brush between mid and bot, while the enemy AD's and jungler's ward placements were unknown, Karsa's options became very simple.
Turn on the sweeper and enter the jungle!
He played this match rather craftily. Starting at Red Side's Red Buff, he took the Red-F6-Wolves-Blue route. His Level 3 was a little slower than the standard Level 3 clear, but this path perfectly avoided the duration of Blue Side's early Control Wards placed at river and jungle entrances, achieving a state of pseudo-stealth.
Of course, this approach had its risks. If Tian really went full reckless mode and ganked bot straight after clearing his Bottom Jungle at Level 3, V5 Bot Lane would most likely be forced to burn their Flashes.
But he had guessed right.
At the highest professional level, Mind Games were essentially about reading each other's psychology. Put professionally, perhaps too many people would not understand, but there was a more down-to-earth comparison: Liars Dice. With 2-3-4 rules, V5 openly protecting bot was like calling one head at the start. If the opponent did not answer, the wager doubled and broke the opening bid. Then Karsa's "add one" completely called them dead.
TES was in exactly that situation now.
Their early wards had spotted no one. They tried invading the enemy Upper Jungle, only to immediately discover that the opposing F6 was gone. What TES truly feared now was not knowing whether Xin Zhao was in his own Bottom Jungle or theirs. The entire team was left confused.
"Karsa is so smart. As expected of a jungler trained by RNG's royal academy. His way of protecting bot is like a sow wearing lingerie—one set after another."
"This is the difference in mentality. V5 still had room for