Fnatic vs Invictus Gaming

The moment we’ve all been waiting for. For the last month, we’ve seen some of the best, most exciting matches of League of Legends to date. We’ve had the best, most versatile and flexible meta in Worlds history and it’s only getting better as it evolves with each passing day.

We’ve come to the very last Best of 5 in the 2018 competitive season, and it is a conclusion no one saw coming. To imagine a Worlds finals without an LCK representative, without Royal Never Give Up - a team that has been destroying their opposition throughout the entire year - this absolutely feels like the strangest of timelines. And yet it’s reality. If you’re a Western fan of League of Legends, this Worlds has been an absolute dream.

With three Western representatives in the Top 4, this year will go down in competitive League history as one that completely turned the script on its head. China is no longer a force to be reckoned with, Korea had a stunningly quick fall from grace, Europe emerged not only as a true contender but as one of the more creative and flexible regions in the world, and North America - a region notorious for underperforming on the international stage - finally had some success with a team with two rookies.

But to bring the topic back to our extremely exciting final clash, we have a fight for the ages. A Best of 5 between the best, most decorated and successful team in EU LCS history in Fnatic, and an unlikely contender in Invictus Gaming. While IG did have two extremely successful splits in the Chinese LPL, they always played second fiddle to Royal Never Give Up. They were always so close to victory, and yet they failed every single time. They had a ton of potential, perhaps more on an individual level rather than as a team, but the meta never really suited them throughout the year.

Fnatic, on the other hand, had a sensational year on home soil. Not only were they unmatched individually, but they displayed immense synergy and team cohesion from the very first day of the competitive season. Ever since they were able to make history and reach the quarter-finals in 2017 after going 0W-4L in the first half of the group stage, they’ve been on fire and have shown no signs of stopping.

They have the very best players in each and every role, and perhaps most importantly, ever since Joey “Youngbuck” Steltenpool joined Fnatic as Team Director, they’ve been propelled to greatness with one of the best, most stacked coaching staffs in the world.

While it might have seemed like wishful thinking, they really did display ample potential throughout the year. They reached Top 4 at the Mid-Season Invitational, and you could just how close this team is the very cream of the crop. Individually they could match the very best players on the planet, but it was their creativity and ability to think outside the box that propelled them into Worlds contention.

The gap has really closed. That cliche notion has been overused throughout the many years when analysts really believed the West had the chance - but this time it’s different. Not only do they have a chance but they’re actually favored by many.

They overcame every single obstacle so far with relative ease, and fans around the world are hoping that the Fnatic organization is going to be able to lift the Worlds trophy yet again after years of being unable to best their Korean counterparts.

Everyone is focusing on their three prior clashes with Invictus Gaming in the group stage - as they should. We have a very solid sample size and we can deduce quite a lot from those three encounters, but it’s not as simple as it seems.

Back when both of these teams fought, the meta was less kind to teams that relied on individual outplays and mechanical prowess. In other words, it’s not exactly black and white, and when picking a team to bet on that becomes quite a big conundrum.

The main problem lies in the fact that, much like Fnatic, Invictus Gaming has two exceptional hard carries that can completely swing the series in IG’s favor. They’re just that good, in fact TheShy and Rookie are arguably the very best players in their roles, and while Bwipo and (especially) Caps have what it takes to go toe-to-toe, a single mistake here or there could become the difference between victory and defeat.

As Worlds went on, the meta shifted more towards individual playmaking. It’s still paramount to be a cohesive five-man unit, and the more you’re prone to team fight and skirmish the better (something the LPL is renown for), but if you have exceptional solo laners then you’re basically unbeatable.

The jungle matchup will probably become the determining factor. Ning is good, but he’s far from Broxah’s level. The sheer fact that Broxah was able to maintain his level of play even though the competition stiffened is absolutely stunning. He's leading in numerous statistics - best KDA at 9.4, tied in Kill Participation with Ning at 70.9%, second lowest death share at 12.7%, first in Gold Difference at 10 (Ning sits at -40), and so on.

While IG have the edge in their solo lanes, Fnatic will be looking to dominate through their jungle and bottom match-ups. Both teams have exceptional reads on the meta and they both have a slightly different take on how to play the game, even though they’re still utilizing their strengths to their fullest potential.

In all fairness, KT Rolster failed to impose their playstyle, they made a ton of mistakes in all stages of the game, they made questionable drafts and their execution was off and even then they were able to take Invictus Gaming to five games. That gives ample room for optimism if you’re big on a Western team lifting the Worlds trophy. That means Fnatic have room to make mistakes and still get bounce back.

In fact, they already did make mistakes against IG, and they were still able to win both games. We’ve seen Caps outclassed on an individual level and that’s not a frequent sight, especially not for a player of his caliber. Even with an underperforming mid laner, Fnatic were able to huddle up, survive the early onslaught and come back into the game. In the end, Caps was one of the most fed members of Fnatic and was styling on IG’s members even though he had an abysmal start.

If anything, the sheer fact that Fnatic was able to beat Invictus Gaming twice when it mattered the most speaks volumes about their individual skill, overall team cohesion, as well as mental fortitude. Beating them once is one thing, but outclassing them twice in a row in order to determine

Furthermore, they’re a team filled with seasoned veterans. Broxah and Caps are no strangers to the international stage and they’re used to playing in high pressure situations while producing exceptional results. Rekkles is a rock in the bottom lane and Fnatic can always count on him clutching things out in the late game, whereas Bwipo - even though he’s still somewhat of a rookie - hasn’t displayed any stage jitters nor lack of confidence. He was able to go blow-for-blow with the very best players in the world and the fact that he went from a complete unknown rookie to the finals of the World Championship is worthy of the highest praise.

This is an insane match-up no matter how you spin it. It could go down in so many different ways that it’s almost agonizing. Both teams have pretty flexible win conditions and how it’ll pan out is anyone’s guess. Both teams adapted to the meta and came out with very unique picks - Viktor in the top lane for Fnatic and a flexible lane dominant Jayce for Invictus Gaming, and that’s just the picks we know about.

Broxah arguably took that one step further and pulled out an off-meta Rek’Sai against Svenskeren’s Xin Zhao, so they could have more surprises in store. Those small pocket picks could swing the series in either team’s favor and it’ll not just be a clash of mechanical skill and cohesion but in creativity and adaptability as well. While Fnatic did show more flexibility in their group tiebreaker matches against IG, that was a different time and IG have adapted (slowly but surely) from then.

In the end, predicting the outcome with full confidence is absolutely impossible. It’ll surely be insanely close Best of 5 that could, by all means, go the five game distance. Small nuanced decisions will determine not just the victor but the pace of the series as well, and in those stressful, high pressure situations Fnatic always manage to play best.

They’ve been close far too many times, and they know that history is within their reach. They’re going all out and they’re not going to squander an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime. While it's not going to be easy, Fnatic should be able to clutch things out and emerge victorious.