Fnatic struck down SK Gaming today, playing up to their expectations by executing an almost perfect game. The win brings Fnatic closer to making it to the 2022 LEC Summer Split playoffs, which the organization has never missed in all 19 seasons in which the team has played in the European league.
Fnatic said on Twitter that it was “time to make changes” and they kept their word right from the game draft by picking Lulu and Kog’Maw for their bot lane duo. SK responded by matching the lane with another hypercarry plus enchanter with the feared combo of Yuumi and Sivir, but they had to focus on punishing their opponents in the early game to not get overwhelmed by the strength of Kog’Maw in the late game. Fnatic, however, showed a dominating early-game strategy within the first minute of the game, invading Gilius’ jungle side and stealing all of his camps.
Thanks to this pressure on the bot side of the map, Fnatic had the freedom of pushing as much as they wanted, punishing SK every time they tried to extend. This led to Hylissang being able to roam around the map earlier than his counterpart on SK, which ultimately gave Fnatic the upper hand during the first teamfight of the game in front of the Herald pit. With the numbers on their side, Fnatic obtained first blood and the first Herald as well, which they used a few moments later to increase their pressure in the bot lane by demolishing the first tower of the game.
The early game was played in the palm of Fnatic’s hands: every movement made on the map resulted in more advantages for Fnatic. Fifteen minutes into the game, Fnatic were 4,000 gold ahead of SK, had three kills, and two drakes, while their opponents were left looking for crumbs to feed on. SK couldn’t find proactive plays. Even during fights they initiated, it was Fnatic who had the upper hand thanks to their positioning, cohesiveness, and individual technical prowess. Fnatic just didn’t give SK any opportunity for a comeback, smiting down every neutral objective, including the first Baron and fourth dragon.
In only 20 minutes, Fnatic had a 10,000 gold lead and was sitting at 10 kills to zero. The gap between the two teams would have been too big to close for SK alone. They would’ve needed to wait for a mistake from Fnatic to turn the tables of the game. But Fnatic commanded the Rift from start to finish and easily conquered their opponents’ base in less than 25 minutes. Fnatic almost executed the first perfect game in the LEC since 2018, but an out-of-position Wunder got caught by SK, leading to the sole kill obtained by the team throughout the game.
This game proved that Fnatic have the ability to make it to the LEC Summer Split playoffs. But tomorrow, they will have to face G2 Esports. And depending on the result of that game, the second stage of the split might move away or become closer for Fnatic.
