FNC Razork: "We've had some confidence issues, but I've been pushing us to be more proactive [...] I take a lot of responsibility"

Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz, jungler of Fnatic at Worlds 2024. Europe's 2nd Seed Representatives.

"Lane swaps are not helping us. We have strong laners, and when we can play lanes, we are a really oppressive team"

Victorious but shaky, Fnatic continues its journey at the League of Legends 2024 World Championship after a win against GAM Esports. As the team prepares to take on Top Esports, the LPL's second seed, fans look towards the horizon with skepticism. In this exclusive interview, the team's jungler, Razork, offers a brutal but honest look at what is not working for Fnatic, the areas to improve, and his aspirations at Worlds 2024.

A win is a win, but it wasn't a clean game. How do you feel about finally winning against GAM?

Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz: As you said, I think it wasn't the cleanest win. It's still a win, and it counts. I think we have to improve a lot in our early game and make sure that we are not starting with a massive disadvantage for no reason. We need to adapt better in lane swap situations because, yesterday, we did it too and started losing. Today, we did it again, and we just need to make sure that we are improving in these aspects for the upcoming matches.

How did you react seeing your toplaner 3 levels and 2000g behind at 10 minutes? I know the issues were not necessarily on an individual level so, how do you deal with this kind of issues as a team while in game?

Razork: I knew what we had to do because I felt that they made a mistake, and we should have invaded the enemy bot side camps. Zyra was going to be really behind, but we let the Jax get the XP and then we just TP'd—that's why I think it went wrong. When our Gnar died and they took all the camps, I knew it was going to be a rough game.

After that, I was playing Jarvan IV against Zyra. She clears really fast, she’s always faster than the enemy jungler in plays. So, I was also falling behind. It was a little bit stressful, but I’m happy that we kept ourselves together. We knew that we are a better team than them, and even if we were behind, we could just win. We had a few good team fights, I think we played well as a team, and we came back.

Can you explain the team's inconsistency in gameplay lately?

Razork: I mean, I would say that we’ve gotten much better at coming back into games. That’s the positive, right? But the negative is that we’re kind of losing every early game. So, that’s not great, because if the enemy team isn’t making mistakes—like top Asian teams actually make very few mistakes—then it’s going to be hard to come back.

So, for sure, we have to be sharper in our early games. I think it was something we were very good at in the summer split, and then we struggled with closing out games. Now it’s the opposite, so we just need to find the middle ground on everything, and I think we will be good.

How did the team go from having good early games and struggling to close them out to having terrible early games but performing better in the later stages? What do you think caused this switch?

Razork: I think it's a mix of everything, honestly. Of course, the meta has changed, and there are different champions, but the lane swaps are not helping us a lot. In both games where we did swaps, we lost the early game really hard.

I think our strength as a team is that we have really good laners, in my opinion, and we know how to create pressure in lane. So, when we can manage to do that, we’re a really oppressive team. But if we’re playing on the map and one wave or lane isn’t winning, then we have to play dives and not up. I think that's a bit worse for us, but we still have to get better at it if we want to beat the really good teams.

Fnatic must play as a team if they wish for success at Worlds 2024. Credit: Adela Sznajder/Riot Games

Most teams enter Worlds at their peak level, but it feels like Fnatic entered with growing pains from the Season Finals. How do you evolve from that, and do you still have confidence issues as a team?

Razork: I would say that yesterday against Dplus KIA, we had a bit of a confidence issue because I feel like our players, including myself, were a bit nervous. I was trying to push the team to be more proactive, not be afraid, and play the way we know how. I think it will just get better and better. For example, it's Jun's first Worlds, so it's more normal that he's not as proactive or confident in himself, but I think he's improving. In general, we will make sure that we are not playing scared. It doesn't matter the nameplates or whatever; we just play our game. If we lose, we lose. If we win, we are showing our best.

In the LEC, you've been considered one of the best junglers. Where do you see yourself among the world's junglers? Do you believe you can compete with top junglers like Oner, Wei, and Peanut?

Razork: There are really good junglers in this tournament. I don't feel like I can't face them. Like, I don't think, "Oh, I'm gonna play against Wei or Peanut, and I'm gonna get completely gapped, and the game will be unplayable." I don't feel that way. They are really good and have a lot of strengths, but they also have their flaws, and I feel like I'm the same, right? I'm very good at some things and not doing very well at others. For sure, there are many junglers way better than me right now at this tournament, but I don't see myself mega far from them. I think I can beat them.

What do you think you’re missing to be on the same level as top junglers?

Razork: There's a lot of things. For example, Peanut is very creative in how he moves on the map, and that is something really impressive. There are also other junglers who are very good at using their time, pressuring at the right moments, and farming efficiently. So, I think that's something we are a bit lacking. Our mid-game has gotten a bit better, but there’s still a lot of work to put in.

As a leading figure and captain of Fnatic, do you feel responsible for the team's struggles? Is it frustrating to see macro issues in your games?

Razork: Yeah, of course. I feel like I take a lot of responsibility for the team in general. I have a lot of things to focus on in the game, and I'm completely fine taking that responsibility. But I feel like if we lose, we lose as a team; if we win, we win as a team. It doesn’t matter if someone has a bad game. Think of Oscarinin, for example; he had a really rough early game, but he still kept his mind in the game and tried to be useful and shotcall. I think that’s something you have to value because it really matters. Today didn’t show our best performance, but we won as a team, and yeah, I’m happy about that.

Do you think playing in Berlin has helped your team find comfort and confidence at Worlds, or are you disappointed about not being able to travel?

Razork: I'm a bit on the side of being disappointed. It's not that I didn't travel somewhere; it just feels like it loses a bit of the spark. Okay, you have been playing in this studio for the entire year. Don't get me wrong, I love the Berlin studio, but it just feels weird to play Worlds here. It feels like it loses a bit of the magic. I would have loved to play in Spain. If I could choose, I would choose Spain. But yeah, I don't mind. Worlds is still Worlds; you play against the best players and teams in the world, so you should always be excited about that.

César and Katy, Razork's parents, at the LEC Season Finals in Munich.

Your parents play a huge part in your life. What would it mean for you to reach the quarterfinals, and are you especially motivated to make them proud at Worlds this year?

Razork: Of course, my parents and my brother have been supporting me all the way. It feels nice that they are backing me up and cheering when I win, and supporting me when I lose. I mean, making it to the quarterfinals would feel good because they will probably be happy, but I will also be very proud of myself because I really want to go to Paris. I loved playing there in Montpellier, and it will be a great experience to play in the quarterfinals of Worlds. It will be the next step toward my goals.

What do you think are Fnatic's chances of making it to the quarterfinals after the first two days?

Razork: I think it's very hard to say, honestly, because this format is a complete coin flip. One day, you can get the strongest team, and then a really bad one. Now, BLG is for example at 1-1, so there is one team that's probably going to face one of the strongest teams in the LPL. So, it's going to be hard, but I believe. The theme of these Worlds is to make them believe, right? So, just believe.

Do you have something to say to Fnatic fans to make them believe in you?

Razork: I mean, not really. The only thing I'm going to say is, I'm sorry for giving you these games. You're probably used to it already because you have been supporting us for a while. This type of game is just Fnatic's style. Even the Dplus KIA game yesterday— you never know what's going to happen in our games. So, that's the fun of being a Fnatic fan. I hope you enjoy, and we will give you more heart attacks in the future.

Header Photo Credit: Adela Sznajder/Riot Games