The 2021 League of Legends World Championship was rough for Fnatic and their fans. The team struggled to find much breathing room in a highly competitive Group C and ended up with a tournament-leading 167 deaths through the group stage at the event, according to Oracle’s Elixir.
Before Worlds began, Fnatic were already scrambling to gather themselves after the team announced that they’d be without starting AD carry Upset due to an “urgent family matter.” As a result, they were forced to perform with Fnatic Rising’s rookie marksman Bean and this sudden change in strategy took a toll on the rest of the squad.
Fnatic were able to take home one win against a surprising opponent in China’s Royal Never GIve Up, but they faltered against Korea’s Hanwha Life Esports and the PCS’ PSG Talon. Fnatic averaged a whopping 27.8 deaths per game and their worst death count came in their first match against RNG when they were absolutely dominated and suffered 34 deaths through 30 minutes of play.
There were plenty of hopes placed on Fnatic’s shoulders after they were able to finally exorcise their demons during the regular season. The perennial LEC champions were coming off of a revitalized Summer Split with Bwipo in the jungle and rookie top laner Adam making his debut, and had even taken down G2 Esports in the playoffs.
But the issues this team had to deal with during Worlds were too much to overcome. Bwipo revealed that he had been going through some personal issues during the tournament as well, which added even more stress as the days went by in Iceland.
Fnatic fans likely hope that there will be better days ahead and another Worlds trip where the team can finally show their full potential on-stage for the community to see.
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