League Analysis — Fnatic vs Misfits Gaming— LEC Week 8
14 MARCH 2021 — by League Analyst
The second day of week 8 is coming up today and the boys in orange are facing of against Misfits. Fnatic is currently tied for third place in the standings together with MAD Lions, the team that Misfits found a huge comeback victory against just yesterday.
That victory means that Misfits still is in a fighting position for the 6th and final spot in the playoffs. And with only two games left of the regular split, these matches will be crucial in deciding the seedings for the BO5's.
Fnatic on the other hand suffered defeat yesterday against Schalke 04 and is looking to bounce back with a victory today. In the game against S04, I was very critical of the draft approach that Fnatic had going into the game. So today I’m personally hoping to see a change of direction, with a more decisive draft, playing to the team’s strengths in game.
I want an aggressive and playmaking botlane combined with a lot of dive, giving Fnatic the tools to pull the trigger instead of being at mercy of the enemy teamcomposition. Non-stop aggression has been the name of the game the entire split, so shying away from that playstyle seems counterproductive. Maybe the team can pull out some different strategies in playoffs, but this is not the time to do so.
Last time these two teams played, it was Misfits that came out on top after quite a one-sided game. It was also the game that made it very clear that Vetheo isn’t allowed to play Zoe on stage.
Draft breakdown
Finished draft shown at the bottom of the breakdown.
Blue Bans:
Ban 1 — Lillia
The mobile and very potent AP carry jungler gets banned away. Very powerful because of her flexibility and fast jungle clear.
Ban 2 — Xayah
Kobbe’s most played ADC this split. Certainly a strong hypercarry with high kiting potency with her feathers.
Ban 3 — Caitlyn
Just like yesterday, the lane bully gets banned early on. Known for her long range and obnoxious traps.
Red Bans:
Ban 1 — Twisted Fate
The OP of the spring split. With over 96% PB, it’s no surprise that we won’t get to see the card master today.
Ban 2 — Thresh
Soaking up only 3 bans fewer than TF this split, Thresh has become quite a familiar face here in the ban stage. We won’t get to see him today either.
Ban 3 — Graves
Graves is not a ban that I understand personally. Not because he is weak per say, but because there are more valuable tools available.
Picks:
B1 Pick — Rell
The engage goddess herself, that’s what I’m talking about! Hylissang is back on the playmakers.
R1 Pick — Hecarim
With many junglers dropping in priority, Hecarim has been returning to the spotlight, valuable either as a tank or a damage threat.
R2 Pick — Tristana
A mid/bot flex pick in Trisana. It’s hard to say for what purpose the pick will be at this point. She is solid, both as bully into scaling mages or as a hyper carry in the ADC role.
B2 Pick — Udyr
In isolation, I consider Skarner a better pick when dealing with Hecarim. But we all know what Udyr is capable of and he makes sense when considering the pace that Fnatic usually plays at.
B3 Pick — Kai’Sa
Upset’s most played ADC this split. A playmaker with tools allowing her to follow up or even engage fights.
R3 Pick — Alistar
The natural counter to Rell. Viable, tanky and obnoxiously hard to deal with.
Blue bans:
Ban 4 — Orianna
With Hecarim and Alistar both on the enemy team, Orianna is a very logical ban to prevent ball delivery combos.
Ban 5 — Zoe
The Zoe pick mentioned earlier. Very much targeted against Vetheo.
Red bans:
Ban 4 — Sion
Big tank ban, a bit surprising with picks like Gnar and many enchanters available to counter.
Ban 5 — No Ban
Picks:
R4 Pick — Ryze
Ryze doesn’t exactly fit the rest of the Misfits comp, which is very centered around front to back teamfighting. But Ryze always has potential. With the mobility of the realm warp and his potent splitpushing abilities, you can never count out the pick.
B4 Pick — Renekton
Aggressive lane bully with playmaking potential and diving abilities. Very raw, very Fnatic.
B5 Pick — Seraphine
The backbone to round it all out. Healing, shielding and follow up crowd control. Seraphine is the perfect pick for the scenario.
R5 Pick — Gnar
The soft counter to Renekton, offering both teamfighting and sidelane pressure in the later stages of the game. Could set up both for a 1–3–1 or a 5v5 scenario. Flexible = Valuable.
Pre-game prediction
Scaling wise, Misfits has a huge advantage in draft. But Fnatic isn’t the type of team to let a game get to the late game. So who won draft? Based on champions alone, I’d say Misfits. They have flexibility in their champions and the clock will favor them heavily.
But Fnatic is known for their snowballing capabilities, and they have the tools to run over the game once again. Can Misfits hold on? It’ll be the crucial question this game.
Key moments
What can you say, Fnatic completely dropped the ball in this one. 6:30 in game, Hylissang gets caught establishing vision in bot side river. After barely getting out alive, Fnatic for some unholy reason decide that this was the time to chase into enemy territory.
A collapsing Misfits easily won the fight and collected 3 kills for their Tristana, essentially ending the game before it had even started. Following that came failed dives and more lost fights for Fnatic. Even with Misfits overstepping and getting caught multiple times, it had close to 0 impact on the game. 24 minutes in, Misfits ended Fnatic’s suffering with the fastest game of the spring split.
Post game key takeaways
Drafting early game and failing to execute, it’s almost like we are back in week one. And I will ask the same question like I did then; do you need to plant a timed bomb in your team every draft? Is it necessary to handicap yourself with narrow win conditions and inadequately scaling teamcompositions.
I wont be the judge since I lack the information that motivate these decisions. But when a team misstep and take fights that they shouldn’t, it’s not going to work out. Like noted on the desk, it really isn’t that intricate. And when drafting like this, coming back becomes almost impossible.
I wanted Fnatic to return to comfort, but that obviously wasn’t enough to get across the finish line. In a dramatic turn of events, the team still hasn’t locked their playoff spot due to tiebraker regulations. With one day left, it’s getting very exiting and everything is still up in the air. Tomorrow we’ll get to see the grand finally of the 2021 spring regular season, see you all then!
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