The LEC is back in action with Week 1 of the 2023 Summer Split and Fnatic (FNC) will have the toughest super week out of all ten teams. How will they perform now that Rekkles has returned? Let’s break it down.
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Image Credits | Riot Games
The LEC Spring Split starts this Saturday and we get an immediate banger in the last match of day one. Fnatic will go up against Vitality in their 2023 debut match. On one hand, you have FNC with Rekkles returning to the roster. The legendary ADC is coming back to the LEC hoping to elevate the team’s potential.
The main key point for this team will be seeing who they want to play around with: both Wunder and Rekkles are known for being quite passive early on, meaning that Humanoid might be the focal point to invest resources in. That said, only having one lane to play around can be tricky for the current LEC meta, so Fnatic’s week one performance will tell us whether they have ideas on how to deal with that.
On the other hand, Vitality have rebuilt its entire roster around Perkz, with a solid bot lane in Neon and Kaiser and import top-jungle duo. Photon, but most importantly, Bo, have been two hyped players for this year’s LEC. The Chinese jungler has been stomping solo queue and fans are wondering how he will do in professional play. Known for having an aggressive playstyle, Vitality might be a team that has an MAD Lions-esque playstyle where the jungler becomes the real carry.
Predicting the first game is always easy because it’s hard to judge without insider scrim info. That said, if Vitality still needs time to find the right playstyle or identity, Fnatic should have a more stable playstyle. If FNC hopes to win a series this week, Vitality is the one with the highest chances.
Predictions – Fnatic 55% | Vitality 45%
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After the series against Vitality, Fnatic will have to face their biggest rivals in the LEC G2 Esports who have made major changes to their roster. Jankos and the bot lane have left, with Hans Sama, Mikyx and Yike joining the team.
For Mikyx, this is a return to the team. For the other two, on the other hand, it’s a new start. Hans Sama comes from a disappointing season on Team Liquid, while Yike has been picked up as the rising jungler from the ERL. The rookie player will have a golden chance to make his name in the LEC.
Considering all the individual players, G2’s potential is immense and apparently, according to some of the LEC casters like Vedius and Caedrel, G2 have been stomping scrims lately.
While it’s not a given that they can transition that onto the LEC stage, they are looking like the favorites going into the match. Regardless of who wins, we’re hoping to see an eventful series.
Predictions – Fnatic 35% | G2 Esports 65%
The FNC super week will close off with yet another LEC title contender, the newly rebranded KOI. After losing Odoamne, the team brought in Szygenda who comes from a strong year on the ERLs. It may not be an upgrade over the Romanian top laner but saying it’s a downgrade doesn’t seem to be right either. Therefore, KOI’s playstyle might remain unchanged with Szygenda having a similar role that Odoamne had last year.
Image Credits | @KOIxENG Twitter
At this point, Fnatic’s chances of victory against KOI will also depend on their two previous matches and how their momentum is affected. Fnatic’s main hopes will be on the meta-favoring champions like Zeri and Sivir, who are perfect for Rekkles and his scaling playstyle. If he can manage to handle the pressure during the lane, then Fnatic will have an opportunity.
That said, KOI was the strongest team EU had last year, and changing the top laner shouldn’t make much of a difference. Furthermore, KOI have always been strong at Bo1 so they are more likely to take this match. For Fnatic, unfortunately, this could be the worst LEC start ever.
Predictions – Fnatic 40% | KOI 60%
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