European League of Legends fans witnessed a battle between two of the best teams in the LEC when Rogue and Fnatic fought for their season at the 2022 LEC Summer Finals stage at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden. It was an exciting series to lead up to the culmination of this past season, but Rogue has finally earned their rematch against G2 Esports tomorrow.
Fnatic has had a roller-coaster season since the first week of the summer. The perennial LEC champions suffered a couple of 0-2 weeks. They lacked the cohesion and coordination that many people expected from such an experienced roster.
The team had to hang on tight to their spot in the playoffs, scraping by with a fifth-place finish and a 10-8 record. Luckily for them, Fnatic seems to have found their form at the right time, taking down the number one team in the region, MAD Lions, in an impressive 3-1 series off the back of a great performance from their star jungler, Razork.
Related: Razork leads Fnatic to impressive 3-1 win over MAD Lions in LEC playoffs
Rogue, on the other hand, had a strong start to their summer by finishing the first half of the round robin at the top of the standings with a 7-2 record. The second half wasn’t nearly as good, though. Uncharacteristic losses to lower-tier teams like Astralis, Team BDS, and SK Gaming pushed them out of the number one spot, but they stayed afloat enough to stay in the top three.
Outside one loss, Rogue easily took over the series against Fnatic. Even after a superheroic effort from Humanoid on Sylas in the second game of the set, the confidence and coordination from the boys in blue was simply too much to handle. From Malrang and Larssen setting up huge combos with Jarvan IV and Orianna to Comp and Odoamne putting on master classes on Lucian and Ornn, respectively, Rogue would not be denied a date with destiny.
Many people believed that Fnatic’s recent victories against MAD and Misfits Gaming were enough to give them momentum into this series, but Rogue’s teamfighting was superior today. The team evolved quickly over the past week since their sweep against G2, but redemption and glory are back on the menu.
Rogue has the chance to write their names into the history books of the LEC tomorrow when they take on G2 in the 2022 LEC Summer Finals. It hasn’t been a perfect road, but the journey’s end is all that matters for their efforts. They’ve broken their summer curse and now have another opportunity to win the first championship in the organization’s history.
On the other hand, Fnatic has fallen short of a title once more. The legendary organization hasn’t won a championship since 2018. Even though they’ve had some of the best rosters in the region’s history, they’ve consistently crashed in their playoff runs. With months before the start of the 2023 Spring Split, this team must make some big decisions with its roster and coaching staff during the off-season.
Published: Sep 10, 2022 04:24 pm