All-Star Preview – Fnatic

After a hard-fought four game match, Fnatic were unable to contain Royal Club and finished 4th in Los Angeles. At that time, fans were happy with the placement as their beloved bunch topped their group with a convincing 7-1 scoreline, even demolishing a heavily-favored Samsung Galaxy Ozone team. In the playoffs, xPeke and his boys began the rivalry with Cloud 9 after eliminating the North American pride 2-1. The road ahead seemed tougher and tougher.

There is no shame in falling to a strong team such as Royal Club and many were pleased that a European team cracked the top 4. In addition, the three Chinese wins were by no means stomps which gave Fnatic even more credit. Now the quintet are back, stronger than ever with the addition of Rekkles and are seeking to defend the honor of Europe once faced with the champions of South Korea, China, North America and South East Asia.

Rekkles, the final piece

The line-up had an explosive start to their LCS campaign - a sound victory over Gambit and a highest KDA ratio debut for Rekkles during Super Week 1. Their streak and domination extended for several more weeks as the players seemed to walk past opponents with ease, outsmarting and outplaying all that stood in their way.

The main catalyst was undoubtedly the Swedish marksman. Martin had waited for a year in the Challenger scene, honing his skills and pushing himself to the absolute limit, prior to joining the starting five. The more weeks passed, the better he became with fans and commentators alike praising his consistency and effective play in both victory and defeat. Even during the mid-season losing streak, Rekkles was always on point, outfarming and keeping at bay the enemy bot lane, thus attracting jungler pressure and giving his solo lanes a much needed breath of fresh air.

Historically, Europe is known as a mid laner region, given the strength and versatility the continent brings to the table in the specific role. However, we witnessed a strong AD Carry contingent forming led by mechanically gifted players such as MrRallez, Tabzz, CandyPanda, Forg1ven and of course, Rekkles. In gauging the Swede's dominance, we can safely say that although the aforementioned four are worthy opponents, none of them come even close to the class which the Swede represents right now. A victory in the EU LCS during his debut, Martin showed to be more than deserving of the title "best Western AD Carry".

The Fnatical consistency

Regardless of the team's mid-season slump, one cannot deny the complete dominance of Fnatic over Europe. A simple glance at the 2014 Spring Split Season shows that the team never in those 11 weeks left the top four. A feat which only runner-up SK Gaming and third place ROCCAT repeated. Ironically, those 7 defeats came in at the perfect time for the squad as the weeks left until the end of the season allowed for the team to address the issues properly and recollect themselves as playoffs were near. Had those come two to three weeks later, we could have seen a very different Fnatic.

Their eventual second place paved the way to the playoffs for the third time, putting them in a perfect position to siege the first place. Interestingly enough, Fnatic always seems different when xPeke steps it up. Maybe it is the longevity of the team, the fact that Europe is a mid-centered region or the friendship factor, but once Enrique rises to the occasion, you do not want to be in Fnatic's way. When the Spaniard is "inspired", every single other player on his team feeds off that energy and when you are surrounded by beasts such as sOAZ and Rekkles, a selfless and always reliable Cyanide and a master of engages that is YellowStar, then victory is imminent. Despite losing a game, the team crushed Alliance and prepared themselves for an El Classico like non-other.

The match versus SK was a very interesting encounter as two different play styles clashed. After exchanging a game each, Fnatic were heavily on the back foot, following a disastrous dive by Rekkles on top which gave fredy122 an unexpected kill. The game continued with xPeke and co answering to every rotation that SK did perfectly. As their opponents were trying to starve them out and potentially outrotate, every retaliation was done with a clear goal in mind and once the time was right, Fnatic took their revenge. After only one fight, a Rekkles triple kill and a baron buff, Fnatic took another game and seemingly crushed SK's confidence. The final 3-1 scoreline and their third consecutive LCS title marked them as Champions of Europe.

Another title in the bag, the team has now set its sights on the competition in Paris. A round robin with the finest from the other regions promises to bring great entertainment and also push the Champions of the old continent to the limits, something that has not been done since the Season 3 World Championships.

Notable players

Enrique 'xPeke' Cedeno Martinez

Role: Mid

Notable champions: Kassadin, Twisted Fate, Nidalee

The Spanish beast will be playing in an international setting once more. As mentioned above, Enrique has a unique trait of "inspiring" his teammates. Whether it is simply outplaying his enemy laner, narrowly escaping from multiple threats via obscure paths, assassinating enemy carries in the blink of an eye or backdooring an unsuspecting enemy, Peke emits the confidence needed for his teammates to step-up. With Twisted Fate making his triumphant return to the competitive scene, we can definitely expect one of the best EU TF players to once again showcase his card mastery.

Martin 'Rekkles' Larsson

Role: AD Carry / Marksman

Notable champions: Lucian, Vayne, Jinx, Ezreal

The young Swede was one of the most hyped players since the inception of the LCS. What is more interesting is that he actually delivered when it matter the most, winning an MVP award in his first week, an MVP Playoff award and the title of European Champion, all in his debut season. Undoubtedly, Martin will be looking to test his skills against marksmen from other regions as he has already established his undisputed dominance in Europe. It must be noted that currently, new champions are coming in (Corki, Graves, Twitch) and others are falling out of favour (Caitlyn) and many people are excited to see how each region will adapt to the bot lane meta. One thing is for certain, Rekkles' competitive drive is now stronger than ever and the youngster eagerly awaits to face behemoths such as Piglet and San.

What awaits Fnatic in Paris?

The kings of Europe have come a long way since the Season 3 World finals. They now have a stronger and more versatile roster, filled with players who can carry the game by themselves given the right circumstances. The lack of international tournaments, however, makes it hard to gauge how they will match against the rest of the world. However we will be treated to another great episode of the "Cloud 9 versus Fnatic" rivalry with both rosters stepping-up in recent months.

Fnatic open the round-robin of All-Stars Paris against China's OMG, who will be using a substitute on mid due to visa issues. The European champions have a tough road ahead, but all the necessary tools to progress are already in their possession. Given the uncertain nature of the event and competitors, we can safely predict that Fnatic will pass the group stage, but extended series against teams such as Cloud 9, SK Telecom T1 K and OMG will prove difficult.