It hasn’t been an easy run through the 2021 World Championship for Fnatic, winless through the first three games of their group stage performance. Before the start of the second round-robin for Group C, the LEC’s second seed has released an emotional behind-the-scenes look into the struggles that the roster is facing.
In the video, head coach YamatoCannon addressed the situation around Fnatic’s AD carry Upset. Although he said that Upset gave him some details around the situation, he didn’t specify to the camera. YamatoCannon, however, said that the decision to leave was extremely hard for the veteran marksman, but he knew that letting Upset go back home was the right call.
“He set a very high standard for us, you know,” YamatoCannon said. “In many shapes and forms, he was a leader for the team. Nothing was more important for him than qualifying to the World Championship. And when a person like that goes through so much pain, and begins to ask himself these questions [like], ‘Should I leave?’ He has weighed everything to make that decision.”
Yamato said that Upset’s stress got to a certain point where he began to worry about long-term consequences, that he “wouldn’t be able to carry that guilt” if he allowed it to continue. As a result, Upset decided to leave Iceland.
Further into the video, the team showed the team’s post-game meetings following the three losses they suffered to teams like Royal Never Give Up, PSG Talon, and Hanwha Life Esports. The team’s confidence seemed to wane more and more as the days went on until it came to a boil after their third loss of the tournament.
At the end of the video, Fnatic’s mid laner Nisqy was shown in tears as YamatoCannon tried to keep their spirits up with an inspiring speech. However, the talented Belgian couldn’t hold his emotions back as he said, “I don’t know, I’m sorry guys, it was a win.”
Not everything is lost for Fnatic, though. The odds might be stacked against them, but, like Cloud9 in Group A, they still have a chance to succeed. They must win every game moving forward if they want a chance at the knockout stage. Catch the team in action when Worlds 2021 continues tomorrow at 6am CT.
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