Fnatic have lost six finals since their last title in 2018... five of them againt G2
G2 Esports are looking to continue their perfect run in the European arena being the winners of both the Winter Split and the Spring Split of the LEC, League of Legends EMEA Championship. Fnatic on the other hand are looking to once again lift that long-awaited trophy that the British organization has not been able to lift since the European LCS final in 2018. The stakes are twofold in this summit clash, as the winner of the Summer Split will qualify for Worlds.
Now or never
For the European fan it is now or never. In the last five years we had not seen a G2 with so many doubts when jumping into the Summoner Rift, which comes from losing in the upper bracket against Fnatic, a case that we also did not see since 2022. All the stars seem to be aligned so that after six years the British team returns to lift the title of European champion but although the theory and fables are hopeful, the reality is different.
Rasmus "Caps" Winther does not know what it is to lose a final against Fnatic, the Danish midlaner has only lost one final of all the ones he has played in his career, being his personal record a 12-1. Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle also doesn't know what it's like to lose against Fnatic in the finals with a 5-0 record.
G2 Esports has not been having their dream Summer Split, even though at the beginning of the split it was thought that it would be just a formality for the organization and they also made it known, since the first week of G2 something was not working as they wanted in the team. Two series against KC and BDS gave them as favorites against Fnatic to be directly in the grand final. After a fifth map against Fnatic and a fourth map against BDS, the alarms seem to have gone off in Dylan Falco's team.
Razork, time to shine
Fnatic in turn in the best form of the year, the team captained by Ivan "Razork" Martin has raised quite a few surprises this last stretch of the competition. After falling in the first match in the EWC against Team Liquid, alarm bells rang in the British team where they seemed to have again those problems that we saw in the MSI. Far from the reality Fnatic started the Summer Split in an incredible form with a much more refined style of play and being the best team in scrimms as reported by other players in interviews.
Despite a first playoff series against GiantX that raised doubts, Fnatic has been a resolute team, with a stellar Razork leading the team and the best form we have seen all year from Marek "Humanoid" Brazda, Oscar "Oscarinin" Munoz, Oh "Noah" Hyeon-taek and Yoon "Jun" Se-jun. The serie promises to be one of the most evenly matched finals in recent years that will be decided by small details and flashes of quality, Razork's long-awaited first LEC or the extension of the Caps' absolute dominance.
Header Photo Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games