The current kings of Europe are one step closer to putting together a perfect season of League of Legends.
Today Fnatic boosted their record to 9-0 by handily beating H2k Gaming, the now 7-2 team that sits one spot below them in the League Championship Series (LCS) standings.
H2k, with their methodical play style and solid teamwork, should be one of the teams capable of challenging Fnatic dominance. They took the defending champions to five games in the playoffs last season, after all. But today Fnatic looked two steps ahead from the get-go, scoring a few early kills and using that lead to sweep the map objectives, scoring a Baron at the 26-minute mark and securing all four Dragons.
The victory means that Fnatic has beat every single team in the LCS this season.
The young Fnatic lineup burst onto the scene in the Spring Split with surprising success, taking a lineup filled with relatively unknown and rookie players all the way to the finals. But it wasn’t easy against teams like Unicorns of Love and H2k Gaming. Then, at the Midseason Invitational, they impressed on the international stage by nearly knocking off Korean powerhouse SK Telecom T1. Now, with Martin “Rekkles” Larsson in the AD carry position, Fnatic is building on that success.
The wanton aggression that saw Fnatic crush teams in the early game during the Spring is still in full force, but now Fnatic has a complete game behind it, a team capable of dissecting foes and picking them apart in both the mid and late game.
The team is packed with star talent, with solo laners Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon and Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten playing like the best at their positions in Europe. Today Huni shut down H2k’s own top lane star Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu by limiting him to the lowest farm number of any top laner this season in the early game.
Huni finished the game with a 6/3/6 KDA on Ryze, backed by Febiven’s 6/1/3 Jayce and jungler “Reignover” ‘s superb 4/3/9 Olaf performance. Support player Bora “YellOwStaR” Kim put together a 0/0/13 KDA. He’s only suffered one death in his past 6 games.
The 9 wins in a row tie the longest win streak in EU LCS history, set by Fnatic themselves in 2013. This version of Fnatic is certainly a much different team than the Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño Martinez lineups of yore, but the only remaining member from that era, YellOwStaR, is proving that some of that old Fnatic magic lives on.
Fnatic is looking like they are quite possibly the best team the West has ever put together. They’ve got a lineup packed with individual skill and mechanical prowess, superb team chemistry, solid coaching, and dedication to improving the right way—and a good grasp on how to utilize those advantages to win in all phases of the game.
Completing an LCS season with a perfect record would of course be an achievement, but Fnatic surely has their sights set on something more, especially after a taste of what an international victory might be like at the Midseason Invitational.
I didn’t think I would ever say this about a Western team right now, but @FNATIC can win #Worlds this season… They are so so good… #LCS
— Frank Fields (@FFMirhi) June 25, 2015
Riot writer Frank “Mirhi” Fields may be known for his hyperbole, but that claim is looking more and more realistic every time Fnatic takes to the Summoner’s Rift, and that’s great to see with the World Championships just a few short months away.
