Why FNC lost to AHQ again

Fnatic lost to AHQ again, what did they do wrong?

This article will compare their tactic to C9.

How did C9 win?

 C9 defeat AHQ in the first day, it is a surprising victory. But when we look into this victory, the way C9 played could be familiar to some LMS fans: the tactic is almost the same as AHQ’s rivalry, TPA.

 The tactics are as below:

1. Pick a strong zone control composition to make sure AHQ can’t even get near.

2. Play defensively during Laning phase, don’t let AHQ snowball too easy.

3. Gather in Mid lane,  and wait Westdoor to split push, then assault the rest of AHQ.

 These are old tricks TPA played against AHQ from S3 to S5, and they work like a charm. Even TPA is rebuilding this year, they still manage to push AHQ to the limit with these good old tricks.

The tactics capitalize on 2 major weakness of AHQ:

1. AHQ has no poke.

2. AHQ don’t kite back in team fight.

So What did FNC do wrong?

Let’s compare how FNC played to the 3 principles.

1. Pick a strong zone control composition to make sure AHQ can’t even get near.

 FNC did pick some zone control, Darius and Annie are very good at engaging. But the tricky part is, their range is too short. C9 picked Veigar, Gangplank and Morgana, AHQ can’t even get near, much less start a fight. But FNC picked Darius and Annie along with Olaf and Sivir, they have to charge in and fight in close range. This is not only what AHQ want, this is what they need. 

 In the game we saw many times FNC try to charge in, but AHQ just don’t kite back to let FNC chase(Remember the 2 weakness I mentioned above?). Instead, AHQ charge into FNC and stop Huni and Reignover, giving Westdoor easy chance to cut through the front line and force Rekkles to back away.

2. Play defensively during Laning phase, don’t let AHQ snowball too easy.

 FNC did not play defensively, they did the completely opposite. FNC tried to snowball harder, tried to destroy Top lane, and all their effort only to find themselves punched by AHQ.

 AHQ wants to fight, and you don’t have any reason to give them the chance. This is a major mistake for FNC.

3. Gather in Mid lane,  and wait Westdoor to split push, then assault the rest of AHQ.

 This is the trickiest part. FNC did not match the No.1 principle, giving AHQ chance to start a fight, so Westdoor will not go split push! 

 Any team must remember, the only timing to assault AHQ is when Westdoor is split pushing.

 In team fights, AHQ don’t kite back, ziv and Mountain will charge in to stop the opposing tanks getting near An. But without Westdoor, AHQ has no way to stop the opposing carries chopping down their front line,  so the fight is nearly a guaranteed lost.

 Now we can see FNC almost missed all major principles against AHQ, and there’s still one more thing against them: Tahm Kench.

 AHQ, as expected, really did not kite back in the whole game, but in this game they just don’t need to kite: Tahm Kench can simply eat An then put him back to better position, and FNC has no more engage to use. A frontal assault will never work.

 When FNC first lost to AHQ, they might say it is because they are unfamiliar, but the defeat this time they have no excuse, especially when C9 found out how to defeat AHQ. This defeat can cost FNC their whole World series. They better start to be more prepared about AHQ in next round.