After a horrendous performance through the opening weeks of the 2023 LEC Winter Split, Fnatic’s League of Legends team missed the playoffs for the first time in the organization’s history. While eight other teams continued forward, the perennial LEC champions were sent home, left to ponder what went wrong and how they could avoid a similar fate next split.
Two weeks after the team’s elimination from championship contention, one decision has apparently been made: Fnatic will be parting ways with veteran top laner Martin “Wunder” Hansen for the 2023 Spring Split, according to independent esports journalist Brieuc Seeger.
Wunder has been one of the best top laners in the league since his first year as an LEC player with Splyce. He quickly rose up the ranks and became one of the most reliable names in the top lane with G2 Esports, while also winning four LEC championships and an MSI trophy in 2019. With Fnatic, however, the road has been far from perfect.
During this past regular season, for example, Wunder had the second-lowest KDA of any LEC top laner and some of the lowest damage numbers in his role, according to competitive League stats aggregate Oracle’s Elixir. This could, however, also be a partial byproduct of how poorly the rest of his team performed since they finished with only two wins over the course of three weeks.
Seeger reported that although there are still some considerations to be made, the most likely candidate for the open position is Fnatic’s Academy top laner Óscar “Oscarinin” Muñoz Jiménez. The 19-year-old rookie joined Fnatic TQ in 2022 and would be making his first appearance with an LEC roster.
It’s unknown whether Fnatic will be making any other roster moves before the 2023 LEC Spring Split begins on Saturday, March 11.
