SK Gaming upset Fnatic, keep playoff hopes in 2021 LEC Summer Split

The team was able to come back from a huge deficit and turn the game around.
Photo via Riot Games

SK Gaming upset Fnatic after falling behind in both gold and objectives in today’s 2021 LEC Summer Split matchup, an outcome that defies the notion that SK can’t turn a game around when they’re at a disadvantage.

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Fnatic seemed the favorites going into this series after their dominant performance in the past couple of weeks. They took down most top-tier teams, and the possibility of losing to a team struggling to remain in the playoff race was out of the picture. However, SK put up a good performance today and outsmarted Fnatic at their own game after a series of calculated plays, setting up death bushes and picking the Fnatic members one by one to turn the game around.

Blue won the MVP vote with a small margin after his impressive Syndra performance. He managed to land crucial combos to lock down the Fnatic squad before unleashing a flurry of balls to delete his opponent’s carries from the Rift.

The match started with several aggressive plays from both teams. Fnatic gained a huge lead after Bwipo and Nisqy roamed as a unit and picked up kills on side lanes. By the 15th minute, Fnatic had a 4,000 gold lead and was in complete control of the game. SK didn’t lose their hopes of winning the match, however, and funneled resources into picking up dragons while bleeding on the rest of the map.

SK caught up to their opponents’ gold after a couple of successful teamfights and started trading evenly. The series ended with an explosive teamfight, with SK having the upper hand. After SK blew up Bwipo, his teammates were left like fish in a barrel and SK picked them off one by one before finishing the match.

With four teams locked in for the upcoming playoffs, the battle is fierce for the remaining two spots. Only five out of six remaining teams can make it to the playoffs, and every victory increases their chance of getting there. Only Schalke 04 is out of the race after today’s loss against Astralis.

SK isn’t seen as one of the favorites to reach playoffs, but this could play into their hand if their opponents don’t properly prepare tactics to face them. They have a difficult challenge in the upcoming super week since they have to face Misfits Gaming, Rogue, and Astralis. All three teams have looked great so far and are favored going against SK. Tune in next week to see if SK can continue their upsets and secure one of the two remaining playoff spots.


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Cristian Lupasco
Finance expert by the day, cooking enthusiast by the night. Found a passion for writing about video games last year.