Fnatic Week 1 — LEC Summer Split
15 JUNE 2021 — by League Analyst
The LEC is back once again for the 2021 summer split and we are heading straight into the action with a 3 day long super-week! Misfits, MAD Lions and Rouge were the three opponents for the boys in orange in the first week of play. It’s a tough schedule with both spring finalists on the schedule and the new Fnatic roster will have to step up to the challenge in order to get a solid start to the split.
Fnatic vs Misfits
The first game of the split is usually a bit shaky, with teams looking to find their footing after the mid-season break. Fnatic however, started strong and found a solid early lead in their game against Misfits. But despite being down two Nashors and Fnatic being on soul point, Misfits kept themselves in the game by battling back effectively across the map.
After securing their 2nd Baron, Fnatic made a huge blunder whilst over-chasing into a tight chokepoint, allowing Misfits to turn a 4v5 situation into a hard won teamfight and a game victory. A game that looked done and dusted for Fnatic swung instantly and the team would have to wait a bit longer for their first victory in the summer split.
MAD Lions vs Fnatic
Game two of the split was up against the spring split champions MAD Lions. Similarly to the game against MSF, the game started out in an explosive fashion with kills going left right and center. Adam in particular showed up on his pocket pick Olaf and had a couple of pop-off plays in the top lane. But some indecisiveness and general off-sync decisions from the Fnatic side resulted in MAD Lions growing their advantage.
Humanoid and his Akali caused massive problems for the Fnatic backline and as he racked up kills in the mid-game, it seemed all but lost for Fnatic. Despite fumbling in the ending minutes of the game, MAD Lions closed out and handed Fnatic their second loss of the week.
Fnatic vs Rouge
With two losses behind them and community opinion dropping like a rock, Fnatic’s game against Rouge increased dramatically in importance. Yet again it started close, but as the game progressed, the Karthus factor slowly kicked in for Fnatic. Bwipo’s teleport tech created some unusual gank angles and the clear speed of the deathsinger gave Fnatic a clear win condition against the spring finalists.
The team looked way more decisive and was seemingly in control for most of the game. Fnatic ended the game, putting themselves in 6th place in the standing with a 1–2 game score.
It’s not exactly a fantastic start of the split, but considering that the team was facing down a 0–3 start, getting one point on the board doesn’t feel all that bad. The summer split has just begun and we still have many exiting games left to play.
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