Fnatic: Europe’s Only Hope?

Lets face it, Europe as a region has been lacking severely over the past few years on the Word Stage. Our three top teams from last year, Alliance, SK Gaming and the old roster Fnatic, did not even make it into the top ten at Worlds last year. Even the showing at IEM Katowice 2015, not a single European team made it out of the group stages. Is there any hope for Europe? The answer is yes, and its the new and improved Fnatic.

After the embarrassing show at Worlds last year, Fnatic essentially disbanded. All the old guard that have been there for multiple seasons left. Only YellowStar remained. He was tasked with rebuilding the team. What a monumental task this must have been, trying to rebuild a European powerhouse such as Fnatic. But he did a fantastic job in a short period of time. Bringing in two South Korean stars, Huni and Reignover, a Dutch mid-lane in Febiven and recently reintegrating the Swedish Ad carry Rekkles back into the squad, he created a team with unlimited potential.

And this new team has become a force to be reckoned with. Winning the Spring split in the EU LCS they went to the Mid Season Invitational on a high. Fnatic placed in the 3rd-4th position, the highest international position a European team has placed internationally in 2 years. They even gave SKT a run for their money in the semi-finals, which is no easy task. And all this after just a few months of playing together!

Now with a little bit more time playing together, Fnatic are truly coming into their stride. Setting a 10-0 record in the LCS this weekend securing their place the strongest team in Europe. They are showing that they are extremely well coordinated, showing no sign of slowing down.

Now something is happening that has not happened since season 2, Europe has a hope. A shining team that looks unstoppable. A team that Europe can send to Worlds with hope of winning. Will this year be the year that Europe takes back the World title? Only time will tell, but the signs are looking good.