Fnatic vs exceL

Just a year ago, a clash between Fnatic and Excel Esports would hardly excite anyone. This time, however, there's more than enough reason to tune in. The former "kings of Europe" are, without a doubt, a Top 2 team in the region. The loss of Mads "Broxah" Brock-Pedersen was a huge one, but you wouldn't really be able to tell by looking at their play with Oskar "Selfmade" Boderek.

They're every bit as dangerous, capable, and dominant, and although they're still a bit rough around the edges, one can expect Fnatic to reach their former heights sooner rather than later. Selfmade, to his credit, had a couple of fantastic games so far and his high-tempo, "in your face" style of play definitely gave Fnatic the edge on multiple occasions. He still needs to work a bit on his synergy with the rest of the team, but such a thing was expected -- they have been playing as a five-man unit for mere weeks. So far so good, and if they continue building on this solid foundation, they're bound to eventually challenge G2 Esports for the LEC throne.

Opposite them, we have none other than Excel Esports. They're currently sitting in the middle of the standings with a commendable 2W-2L record, and even though they're not exactly deemed a top-tier team, they have all the right tools to compete with Fnatic on even footing. They're talented, capable, in sync, deceptively strong, and are playing without any fear or pressure. It's fair to say that the bar has been set low for Excel Esports as their 2019 season was defined by immense failure, and pretty much nothing else. No one's really expecting them to perform this time around. And even though the line-up changed considerably during the off-season, they're still being overlooked almost by default.

Their play and surprising synergy, however, tell a different tale. They're not exactly a behemoth in the making, but they're actually strong as a five-man unit. They are prone to making baffling mistakes, but such a thing is forgivable seeing how they're still synergizing. As things stand right now, they're a very capable playoff contender and they're bound to keep surprising. Perhaps what's most interesting, however, is the fact that their head coach Joey "Youngbuck" Steltenpool initially left Fnatic during the off-season.

Now, having such immense, intricate knowledge of the players you're competing against automatically grants you a monumental upper hand. You know what they're like, what they're prone to doing and how they want to play things out. Youngbuck is perfectly aware of the many strengths and weaknesses that Fnatic has, which brings us to a very fascinating question: will it be enough for Excel to capitalize?

They certainly have a puncher's chance, but the amount of talent that's present in Fnatic will probably prove to be too much for them to handle. It's simply impossible to bet against the former World Championship finalists as they're still one of the best teams in the world. They might not be overly dominant at this point in time, but they have all the right tools to get the win over Excel. Finally, they'll want to outclass Youngbuck's newest team in as quick a fashion as possible, and they also want as much momentum as they can get coming into their highly anticipated clash with G2 Esports on Saturday.