RESULTS: Fnatic Claim Victory in Their First Match of the Championship Series

The first match of the EU LCS Grand Final has proven to be an exciting one, with Fnatic picking up the victory on the back of some very impressive team fighting. Here’s a brief breakdown of the match.

First blood came to G2 after a well-timed gank in the top lane. While it looked as though the teams were willing to brawl in the aftermath, they quickly fell back into safe laning practices to avoid giving away an advantage. G2 attempted to be more proactive in Fnatics jungle, but were unable to find any success at this time. Following up from their previous attack, G2 focused on the mid lane to try and secure another kill, but proved unable to land the final blow.

G2 focused their attention to the bot side, securing the first Dragon of the match. The teams clashed in the bot lane as a skirmish quickly becomes a full scale team fight, with G2 Esports picking up three kills in rapid succession. G2 continued to apply pressure, attacking the mid lane to secure another kill and take down the outer turret there before rotating to secure the Rift Herald. Fnatic attempt to catch them out in the aftermath, but G2 escape with their lives and the buff.

With Baron now on the map, the teams look for vision control of the area, though G2 are able to apply pressure in multiple lanes thanks to the Rift Herald. G2 manage to secure their second Dragon of the match, though they make sure to maintain vision across the map to keep the pressure high. G2 make the call to quickly rush the Baron, but in the resulting team fight find themselves caught in the pit, losing four members to Fnatic.

G2 attempt to engage onto Fnatic in the mid lane, but the turnaround fight costs them two kills and control over the Dragon. With G2 reeling from the successive lost fights, Fnatic apply pressure across the map, securing multiple turrets as they try to level out the game. G2 again engage Fnatic in the mid lane, and again find themselves losing out as three members fall. With a numbers advantage, Fnatic make the call to try and rush the base, picking up more kills and taking down the defensive turrets of G2s base. With the game poised to end, G2s respawning members manage to repel the attack from Fnatic, picking up four kills of their own before rotating to secure the Baron.

Fnatic respawn and move to secure their second Dragon, and though G2 have the Baron buff, they are unable to effectively apply pressure due to their lack of base defences. Fnatic continue to apply pressure across the map, taking down all of G2s outer turrets, and with both the Baron and Elder Dragon soon to spawn, the teams carefully look for vision control over the neutral ground. As the teams clash in the mid lane, Fnatic comes out heavily on top with EU LCS MVP and Fnatic AD Carry Martin "Rekkles" Larsson picking up a very impressive Penta-kill.

With the first match down, Fnatic have taken the lead in this series. For more EU LCS action, check out the match recap from the 3^rd place series, here, and for more on when the other Championship Match over in NA will be held, check out the Official Schedule page, here.