Against All Odds — Malmö Locked
7 September — by League Analyst
With a legacy to defend and a title to claim, Fnatic, though battered and bruised, has locked a spot in the LEC 2022 semifinals. Despite barely scraping into the knockout stage in the first place, this team seemingly refuse to die and dismantle opponent after opponent on their path to glory.
It hasn’t been an easy road to get here, but it never is with this team is it? It took only two games against Excel before it looked completely doomed. But at death’s doorstep, down 0–2 and facing elimination, something happened. But in order to get the full picture, we must go through it all from the beginning.
As we previously predicted, a lot of attention in this particular series was focused towards the botlane. Not only on the matchup itself, but also on how to involve the rest of the map in assisting their respective carries. Excel, who have flourished when playing the dynamic setups, took an early advantage and managed to shut down Fnatic’s Lucian/Nami combo in the first two games. Game two was a particularly well played out game, where Excel managed to include both Nukeduck and Finn in the macro plays they executed, mainly targeting the bottom side of the map.
Fnatic struggled to keep up with the high activity style and could not keep the tempo reliant Lucian pick safe enough to execute their own game plan, especially as the games progressed into the mid- and late game. So it was quite a big surprise when they decided to return to the pick in game four after failing with a similar approach two times already.
Fnatic took the early lead in the game, but struggled to snowball it out of control, similarly to game one. As the game extended, the increased value of the controversial Yuumi pick that we discussed last week made it seem like the series would end in a 3–1 fashion. And it probably would have if it wasn’t for a clutch baron steal from Razork, pushing it to game 5.
With the series on the line, Fnatic trusted their preparation and ran a similar strategy a fourth time, despite the glaring issues that showed in the previous games. And, to the surprise of many, their faith was rewarded. In what undoubtedly was their best game of the series, Fnatic finally found solid footing and transitioned their strong early game into a game- and series victory.
With a newfound current under their wings, the team went on to 3–0 Misfits in the second round. But even when victorious, team coordination was far from spotless, and in multiple scenarios it still felt like Fnatic had to rely on individual dominance to get the victories on the board. Discipline against the lesser teams helps prepare for the stronger ones, and with the top teams from the regular season still ahead of them, Fnatic needed more.
And more they would get, 3–1 against MAD Lions. A dominant performance in which the overall level of gameplay increased dramatically. The team looked cohesive and were playing around appropriate timings together.
With a sudden change in fortune, Fnatic now find themselves in the semifinals of the LEC and is looking like a true contender for the title. As we head towards Malmö, hope is burning brighter than ever. One year of hard work has led up to this moment, who will be able to handle the pressure the best? Is Fnatic really going to make it all the way despite the issues that they’ve had? Tune in this weekend to find out!
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