Cloud9 vs Fnatic

If there's one thing that became apparent after the first three 2019 Rift Rivals clashes, it is the fact that Europe has North America's number. Perhaps that's even an understatement. This is a complete, resounding, astounding shellacking, and it's as one-sided as humanly possible.

It's somewhat exciting to watch, but it's like watching a couple of Bronze players clash against a team of Diamond or Master League veterans, and this is by no means a knock on North America. It's just the result, and it's empirical in nature. Neither Cloud9, Team Liquid, nor Team Solo Mid put up a fight in their first three outings. In fact, they did nothing. Even bottom tier European teams challenged the LEC pantheon much harder than the best North America has to offer.

So looking ahead, the outlook is quite grim for the LCS trio. And this match-up, in particular, is not different in any regard. It is a clash between the third best team from North America, against their evenly-ranked (from Spring, that is) LEC adversary.

Cloud9 opened up the tournament against G2 Esports and were quickly outclassed on all fronts. They simply had no ability to come back, and even though they had Blaber in the line-up, it seemed like a change in the jungle position would make no difference when it came to the final outcome. G2 Esports was constantly pushing and were always eking out an advantage across the map. Cloud9 was bleeding on all fronts and it was just a total masterclass from a much stronger, much more flexible LEC titan. In fact, they're the best team in the world right now, so the outcome didn't come as much of a surprise. In the end, the total tally was 23 to 6 in G2 Esports' favor.

Fnatic didn't do much worse against the LCS champions either. It was an insane match in every regard, and it was basically decided in the bottom lane. Two spectacular top-tier duos going blow-for-blow throughout the entire game, with their junglers paying constant visits in order to turn the tides. It was a game defined by consistent plays, and Fnatic eventually accrued an insurmountable 10k gold lead after thirty minutes of play -- with their substitute jungler.

Talk about dominant.

The game itself was basically determined by just one or two key plays and fights in the mid lane, and both of them went in Fnatic's favor.

So for this game, in particular, it's downright impossible not to side with Fnatic. They're still undefeated ever since the 2019 Summer Split began, and they're showing no signs of stopping. Whether or not they opt to start with Dan or Broxah doesn't really matter at this point. They're so darn talented and flexible that they should be deemed as the heavy favorites regardless of the opponent. While Cloud9 are a tough nut to crack overall, they shouldn't be able to compete with the former "kings of Europe". Not even close. That said, expect a chaotic fight from the very get-go, especially if Cloud9 decides to bring back Svenskeren into the line-up. That's a much more competent team all-around, and it's going to improve their chances of winning as well.