Fnatic are essentially eliminated from LEC Spring Playoffs qualification after losing 2-1 to Team Vitality.
The team currently sits seventh in the LEC standings with a 3-6 record and no games left to play.
Meanwhile, Movistar KOI can claim the final spot by winning just one of their remaining four matches, three of which will take place in front of their own fans in Spain on their own Roadtrip.
Fnatic were also surprisingly eliminated from the EMEA Esports World Cup qualifiers last week after losing 2-0 to EMEA Masters Champions, Solary.
It’s now Worlds or bust for Fnatic as the team has shown improvement, but has a long way to go before being able to compete with the LEC’s best teams.
Upset Tries to Drag Fnatic Forward
While Fnatic were holding their own early into the first match, Vitality found an ace just 15 minutes into the match.
Fnatic had claimed another Dragon and then engaged with Ornn ultimate, but Linas ‘Lyncas’ Nauncikas buffered Vi ult through it to counter-engage and allow his teammates to clean up.
However, Fnatic managed to keep control of the game.
At the next Drake, Kadir ‘Fleshy’ Kemiksiz appeared to find an amazing flank and engage, but Elias ‘Upset’ Lipp jumped out of it untouched. His Ezreal had become very powerful, and some great peeling by Panagiotis ‘Empyros’ Tantis allowed Upset to get a quadra.
Then Upset got another quadra at the next Drake fight as Fnatic earned Ocean Soul and a significant lead.
An overstep by Empyros looked like Fnatic might throw their advantage, but they eventually closed out the game with Upset finishing 15/2/3 — the most kills he has ever recorded in an LEC game.
Vitality Become the LEC Gatekeepers
Team Vitality then responded in style.
Fnatic forced a dive early on, which did get Upset a kill, but at the cost of two kills for Vitality’s bot lane.
Fleshy then kept setting up ganks bot with Upset failing his flash and still dying to Jhin’s ultimate to put Vitality in full control.
Meanwhile, Marek ‘Humanoid’ Brázda was having a phenomenal performance on Syndra, with one incredible sidestep allowing him to miraculously escape a 1v2.
Vitality snowballed comfortably with the pick of Syndra and Twisted Fate far too much for Fnatic to handle, forcing a third and final game.
Fnatic Couldn’t Defeat Final Boss Naak Nako
In the end, Team Vitality had too many threats for Fnatic to handle.
Iván “Razork” Martín was dominating the early game, exerting a lot of pressure across the map.
However, Kaan ‘Naak Nako’ Okan solokilled Empyros, allowing his Varus to take over the game.
The mid jungle needed to win for Fnatic, but a very clean gank by Lyncas found a kill onto Vladimiros ‘Vladi’ Kourtidis during a very active early game. Humanoid then later found a solokill on Razork to keep Vitality ahead.
And while this was all happening, the top lane was becoming an increasing nightmare for Fnatic.
The poor choice of Gnar into Varus meant that before 15 minutes, Naak Nako was already three levels and 3k gold up on Empyros, and it only got worse from there.
Upset tried to salvage the game, spending everything to get shutdowns on Humanoid and Naak Nako to get his own individual lead.
However, Fnatic couldn’t play the game because of the Varus damage. Razork didn’t even have a chance to steal Dragon Soul because Naak Nako deleted him before he even reached the pit.
Fnatic now needs MKOI to lose all four of their upcoming series, otherwise their Spring Split is completely over.
Will Team Vitality’s form continue into the LEC Playoffs? Let us know your thoughts in the Insider Gaming Discord.
Meanwhile, Sentinels is the first LoL team to qualify for the Esports World Cup after defeating FlyQuest in the qualifiers.
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