Fnatic vs Astralis

Getting excited for Fnatic vs. Astralis feels nigh impossible. Simply put: the gap between these two teams is so large we might as well consider it a canyon. It might be a harsh way of looking at things, but by no means is it incorrect. We're talking about a clash between the biggest frontrunner to win the split and the de facto worst and least capable team in the LEC. And even if they're not *the* worst they're only marginally better and should end up no higher than, say, ninth place once all is said and done.

Be that as it may, they *did* play some fairly solid League of Legends last week. Flawed, certainly, but entertaining nonetheless. That's pretty much all that we can ask for: a relatively competitive affair with a foregone conclusion. We know *how* it'll end, but if the journey towards that point can amuse and entertain us, then we really don't mind.

We all know how this game is going to pan out. Fnatic are arguably the best performing team in the LEC right now, and while their play is still, at times, heavily flawed, they are nonetheless all on the same page in regards to *how* they want to play the game out and it shows in the most crucial of moments. They're not perfect, but for a team that has changed so much during the course of the off-season they've done incredibly well thus far and have impressed us in all the right ways. And, well, their best days are yet to come.

Astralis, therefore, don't have much to offer. They don't have any clear win conditions nor players through whom they can play against and actually eke out an advantage. They're as mediocre and underwhelming as it gets, and it'll be made ever more clear and evident once they spawn on the Rift and start trading blows with a giant like Fnatic. Now, in all fairness, this could be a bit more competitive than the odds would suggest, but not by much. Both teams are still prone to making blunders at the most random of moments, so don't expect the cleanest macro or the most immaculate laning phase -- it'll be a mess more often than not. Of that you can be certain.

Still, once the going gets rough, the former "kings" will surely come out on top. That's pretty much guaranteed.