After a well deserved win last Friday, Fnatic is looking to keep the momentum. They earned a spot at the Spring playoffs. Their second match of the week was against Vitality, a tough opponent who were in 2nd place in the leaderboards at the time. Here’s what happened.
Fnatic vs Vitality Recap LEC Spring 2019 Week 6 [League of Legends]
Fnatic did not start their Spring season very well. They lost their first four games of the season. And having a lot of individual and team problems that translated into mediocre performances. Which made them arrive into week 6 with a 3-7 record. Their chances to advance to the playoffs weren’t looking good. Fnatic, as an organization, had never missed the playoffs in Europe. However, a dim of hope was on the horizon. They managed to defeat Origen and gain a lot of confidence coming into this game.
Watch: Fnatic vs Origen Review – LEC 2019 Spring Week 6
Picks and Bans
The Top lane was a match of the new meta picks. Yorick vs Jarvan, both strong due to the recent buff made to them (better ultimate for Yorick, and more attack speed for Jarvan). Both teams had early skirmishers and pressure jungles in Nocturne and Elise. However the most interesting pick was definitely Fizz for Jiizuke against Zoe for Nemesis. We’ve seen how Nemesis can carry games, so a 1v1 against a consecrated Mid laner like Jiizuke on an assassin. After pick and bans it was clear that Fnatic’s plan was to put side lane pressure with Yorick and Lucian. And against Vitality and all their AoE damage to win teamfights (Cataclysm plus the fish plus Huricane Ashe).
Early game
The first step of the two-step plan for Fnatic to win, To disturb Elise’s early jungle path so Mowgli would be behind of the curve. And have a difficult time ganking the side lanes. After that it is just seamless for Fnatic. Broxah and Bwipo invaded after the first minute mark and secured Vitality’s Red Buff for a 3-buff start for Broxah. Nocturne was in a great spot ahead in experience and gold, but Jiizuke hit level 6 and successfully killed Nemesis with Fizz full combo. He then forced Broxah to spend his ultimate and Flash just to trade 1 for 1.
This gave Mowgli the chance to come back into the game. It started to pressure Bwipo in the top lane, and thanks to that the Jarvan secured a very important gold lead. Meanwhile bot lane was a desert (the first Dragon even came a lot later than normal) and Rekkles pressure was starting to sting. Between the farm lead and the turret plated the Lucian was 2k gold ahead of the Ashe, things were pretty good for Fnatic overall.
Mid game
However Vitality showed why they are the 2nd best team in the LEC. They moved around the map, delaying Fnatic for as long as they could, and funneling farm into their Jarvan and Ashe. Fnatic actually lost the gold lead they had, and only managed to get 3 elemental drakes, which at that stage of the game meant little to nothing.
Both teams were trying to play to their win condition as well as they could, and the skirmishes felt just about to go out of control in any moment, ending most of them in a stalemate where nobody would be killed and nothing would be gained. The game stayed 5-7 in favor of Vitality and about the same gold for both teams the majority of the mid game.
Late game and closing up
At the 30 minute mark, a 2 for 2 teamfight went on, and Vitality finally were able to put their team comp to good use. The combination of Ashe’s Enchanted Crystal Arrow and Fizz’s Chum the Waters made almost impossible for Rekkles to step forward with a mid range ADC like Lucian.
But that didn’t stop Fnatic to look for alternatives. The Baron was a pretty good one. Fnatic started it, but a teamfight comp like Vitality’s loves the Baron pit, and when the teamfight erupted, Vitality killed 4 of the 5 members by separating the carrys (Lucian and Zoe) from the rest of the team. However Fnatic killed the purple worm. Nemesis escaped with the buff, denying Vitality from it and preventing them to push.
3 elemental drake
Fnatic looked for a good position towards the Elder Dragon. They were looking to put the 3 elemental drakes to good use. But Jactroll stole it with a Tongue Lash from Tamn Kench. Using that momentum, Vitality split the team with Abyssal Voyage sending Ashe to destroy the mid inhibitor. Fizz and Jarvan went to stop the recalls of Fnatic, sacrificing their liven in the process.
Fnatic didn’t give up and immediately started the Baron once again. Only this time in the upcoming teamfight, Bwipo tanked both the Crystal Arrow and the Fish. Rekkles was free to rain damage on Vitality, killing 2 with the help of Nemesis. Without losing any time, they pushed mid with the Baron buff, killed the remaining members of Vitality. This secured a 2-0 week and a 5-7 score, just a game away from a playoff’s spot.
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