Team Vitality vs Fnatic

Next up, we have a clash between the former "kings of Europe" Fnatic and Team Vitality. On paper, this should be as one-sided a match as possible, but in actuality, it's a lot closer than most people expect. Fnatic simply aren't playing good League of Legends right now, there's no other way to put it. Maybe it's not that they're bad overall, but there's no synergy or cohesion to speak of, they all engage and team fight on different terms with different goals in mind, and are mostly scattered across the board. And their individual performance? Often pretty abysmal. There's always at least one member who's losing his team the game. Mostly it's Nemesis, but even when the Slovenian prodigy steps up, Hylissang or Bwipo end up plummeting performance-wise.

They're just not a strong, cohesive unit right now, and it's a confusing sight, for sure. These players are much better than they're letting on, they're much more talented and experienced than their play would suggest. They're obviously struggling for a wide variety of reasons, but no one's quite sure whether this is just the way things are right now, if it's just a short-lived slump before a resurgence for the ages -- for which they are known for.

Now, one thing needs to be made clear: Fnatic's miraculous reversal over Misfits yesterday was by no means a fluke. They drafted a better late game team comp, they weathered the storm, and they never surrendered, regardless of the odds and their imposing eight thousand gold deficit. They knew they had a chance come late game and they capitalized fully. The fact that they persevered even when their backs were against the wall is a true testament to their resilience, mental fortitude, and sheer grit. They will not surrender until their Nexus explodes, and the fact that they were able to turn the tides tells us that they're still as dangerous as ever, even though they're not particularly clean in execution right now.

This means they should not be underestimated, but their strength fully relies on their draft and early game execution. If they fumble, they're probably not going to be able to come back, despite their best efforts. It also boils down to whom they're up against -- Misfits obviously lacked that extra bit of oomph which was necessary to close out the game in a more rapid fashion, therefore giving Fnatic an opening to come back. This is the most important part here: Vitality are by no means a mid to late game behemoth, and their recent play has left a lot to be desired. One can argue that even if they bring their A-game they're not going to match Fnatic in any way, shape, or form.

With that in mind, we're siding with the boys in black and orange on this one, but we might see a much more even game than most people expect.