Fnatic’s League of Legends team is reorganizing after one of the worst splits in the history of the organization from top to bottom. First, we heard reports that top laner Martin “Wunder” Hansen will be replaced and that Fnatic is reportedly parting ways with its head coach and rookie support Rúben “Rhuckz” Barbosa. And today, we learned who might be replacing the big shoes of Gonçalo “Crusher” Brandão in the second split of the 2023 LEC season.
Fnatic’s next head coach in the LEC will be Tomáš “Nightshare” Kněžínek, according to freelance investigative journalist Brieuc Seeger, otherwise known as LEC Wooloo.
Best known for being Immortals’ coach in both the LCS and Academy leagues between December 2020 and October 2022, Nightshare was also reportedly in talks with Excel but decided to go with Fnatic. In addition, Seeger reported that Fabian “GrabbZ” Lohmann was considered for the position of Fnatic’s head coach but the negotiations, for unknown reasons, fell flat.
The identical twin brother of a fabled League of Legends player and Evil Geniuses’ current coach Aleš “Freeze” Kněžínek, Nightshare started his professional career as a coach on Czech team Fraternitas in May 2016. For almost three years, Nightshare coached primarily Czech teams. In 2020, he was offered a position as a coach for Immortals Academy and was with the organization until last October.
Nightshare might be the fresh pair of eyes Fnatic needs after a tumultuous 2023 LEC Winter Split in which the team came in ninth place with a 2-7 record. The 2023 LEC Spring Split begins on March 11.
