Origen vs Fnatic

There are only two Best of 5 matches left to be played before we reach the end of the 2019 LEC Spring Split, and both of them should be absolutely incredible. Before we get to the finals, however, we have an incredibly exciting clash between the defending champions — Fnatic, and an unlikely challenger — Origen.

This isn't exactly a clash many people thought we'd see, at least not this soon into the competitive season. Origen always had potential seeing how they're a veteran-filled roster, but the fact that they've been able to overcome many hurdles and overtake teams like Team Vitality, Schalke, Splyce, and Misfits Gaming is worthy of the highest praise.

Europe, as a region, was never this competitive. There were never so many talented and highly capable teams fighting for a handful of playoff spots, and the fact that they've ended in second place is a testament to their inherent potential and incredible work ethic.

But now they’re up against a giant — a European behemoth. They will have to fight tooth and nail and transcend their prior level of play if they want to stand a chance against the greatest and most accomplished European team in history. That’s a tall order, regardless of Origen’s strength.

But let’s focus on the two teams first, and their roads towards this point.

Fnatic have managed to pull off an incredible feat. They were sitting near the very bottom of the standings — next to the likes of Excel Esports and Rogue — with an underwhelming 3W-7L record. They only lost a single starting player, and even though he was their catalyst more often than not, it was still shocking to see just how hard Fnatic imploded. They fought hard with each passing week, but success was seemingly always out of reach. Not seeing them even in the Top 6 was a shocking sight. After all, they’re a team that went the distance and reached the finals of the 2018 World Championship — an accomplishment that no other European team managed to pull off (if we exclude the very first World Championship, as we should).

But after that point, after the first five weeks of competitive play, Fnatic started playing better. Much better. They were echoing the Fnatic of old, the dominant and aggressive Fnatic everyone loved watching. Their resurgence was far from a fluke — they were able to string eight wins in a row, and in doing so, end in third place once all was said and done.

On their road of redemption, they were able to take down everyone in their path — including G2 Esports, Origen, Splyce, Team Vitality, and so on. By all accounts, they were the best and most capable team in the second half of the split. There was no denying it — Fnatic were back, and their adversaries had reason to be worried.

They took out Team Vitality with relative ease in a one-sided quarterfinal shellacking, and proceeded to do the same (albeit in a somewhat more competitive manner) against Splyce just a week later. They’re 14W-1L in their last fifteen games, and the last time they tasted defeat was mid-February against SK Gaming.

They’re entering this clash with Origen with a ton of hype, but they’re not spotless or perfect. Far from it. They have displayed a lot of weaknesses throughout the playoffs and are, as a result, relatively vulnerable. Now, showing weakness is one thing and it’s not exactly the worst thing in the world if their opponents cannot capitalize. Facing Fnatic is always a different beast — even if you know what they’re going to do it’s never easy. They play in a certain, confident way, and they can adapt both mid-game but also mid-series. They’re a flexible opponent for sure, although their playstyle isn’t that complex or varying.

You can always predict what they’re going to go for in the pick and ban phase, and that could potentially be their downfall. They’re just not that flexible when compared to other teams, but then again — they don’t have to be. They’re so exceptional at their playstyle that they don’t need to diversify — not yet at least. They picked a couple of elements of play and just honed them to perfection. Perhaps that’s the best approach in the current meta — only time will tell.

The only way they could be challenged across the board was if they would fight against a team that’s far more flexible and fearless — and that Origen is not. In fact, they share a lot of similarities. They have a relatively one-dimensional way through which they want to play the game, and even though they might utilize more champions than Fnatic, they’re always playing through the same avenues.

They’re easy to read, and they’re not as good as Fnatic in any of the things they do. They’re not bad — not in the slightest. But their highs are just not that impressive, and their lows and mental fortitude are suspect at best. Once push comes to shove, they rarely manage to do the right thing — as evidenced by their awful performance against G2 Esports. Finally, the current meta favors teams and highly skilled individuals. Team play is great and all, but there comes a time when individual players have to step up and hard carry.

Who will step up matters less — it can be the AD carry, the mid laner, or even the top laner. But someone always has to step up. Stellar, clean macro across the board will only get you so far, and when they meet up against an opponent that has those exceptional individuals that can create highlight reels with such ease, they simply don’t have the tools to fight back.

Sure, Nukeduck can sometimes carry but those instances are few and far between. A lot has to go right for Origen in order for that to happen. That said, they have many tools to work with. Kold has been abysmally underrated throughout the entire split and has been a Top 3 jungler in the region. He’s an exceptional jungler and could, in theory, give Origen a serious chance in this Best of 5 if he’s able to go blow-for-blow with Broxah.

They have solid players in each and every lane, but “solid” just doesn’t cut it against titans like G2 or Fnatic. They lose out in each and every lane, and even if Nukeduck outclasses Nemesis in the mid lane, he’s just not the kind of player that snowballs his leads and transfers them over to his team. Fnatic, on the other hand, have three fantastic carries to play through, and they’re always drafting towards their strengths.

An early game focused jungle pick for Broxah, a CC-heavy mage for Nemesis, and a late game insurance bottom lane duo with ample amount of engage for Hylissang — something like an Alistar or Rakan.

All of that said, Origen definitely have a chance to do some damage. They have a puncher’s chance, at least. They were outclassed by G2 Esports just a couple of days ago and they surely want redemption. Whether or not they’ll be able to attain it is a completely different matter, and the odds definitely aren’t in their favor. Regardless, they’re all veterans (excluding their AD carry Patrik) and have surely prepared for this Best of 5.

We’re going with Fnatic on this one and with good reason. It’s hard to give Origen the benefit of the doubt, especially after witnessing their resounding loss to G2 Esports. Fnatic have been on a tear recently and have all the right tools in order to get a relatively clean win. Origen are a “by the book” kind of team, and they rarely bring surprises. Preparation shouldn’t be that complex nor nuanced, and Fnatic should definitely be able to get the job done. That said, it could be a lot more competitive than most people expect.