(original photo courtesy of slaskiepozytywnie.pl)
Fnatic and SK Telecom T1 are both shades of their former selves this season. Fnatic completed one of the most dominant splits in LCS history last season, while SKT soared through Worlds 2015 with consummate ease. Here we stand, however, with two teams far from the pinnacle of their respective regions having reached the biggest stage of one of League of Legends' most grand international tournaments. Could Fnatic complete their Cindarella run with a stunning upset? Or might SK Telecom T1 fulfill most of the world's expectations and bring yet another international title back to South Korea?
Game 1
SK Telecom T1:
Bans:
Jhin, Lissandra, Nautilus
Picks:
Poppy, Gragas, Corki, Ezreal, Braum
Fnatic:
Bans:
Lulu, Nidalee, Kalista
Picks:
Trundle, Lee Sin, Zed, Kog'Maw, Alistar
SKT did their homework on Fnatic this game. The Jhin target ban against Martin "Rekkles" Larsson left Fnatic scrambling for an OP pick rather than a comfort pick. Deciding on the Kog'Maw was partially Fnatic undoing this game, as they picked a sub-optimal comp to protect the immobile carry. Fabien "Febiven" Diepstraten's Zed pick provided no security for Rekkles, and failed to create the split pushing and pick pressure necessary to justify not spending the pick on an Orianna or Lux who could have served to peel and shield for her carries.
Though Febiven was able to secure a solo kill against all-world mid laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, Fnatic were unable to secure much map control past the ten minute mark. SKT's immaculate objective control allowed them to maintain a gold lead despite surrendering unnecessary kills early in the contest. Lee "Duke" Ho-seong's Poppy and Bae "Bang" Jun-sik's Ezreal gave Fnatic fits all game and succeeded in creating both picks and team-fighting presence across the map. The European stalwarts simply could not keep up.
Fnatic won the micro game throughout the contest, but because SKT was able to play a much more efficient macro game, they dictated the mid and late game sufficiently enough to pull out a victory.
Winner: SK Telecom T1
Game 2
?Fnatic:
Bans:
Gragas, Kalista, Corki
Picks:
Nautilus, Lee Sin, Lissandra, Kog'Maw, Thresh
SK Telecom T1:
Bans:
Jhin, Nidalee, Lulu
Picks:
Poppy, Elise, Vel'Koz, Ezreal, Braum
Bang's Ezreal is ban-worthy.
Fnatic adapted fantastically to SKT's advantages in game one, selecting a composition much more capable of protecting Kog'Maw. This led to a dominant early game performance by Fnatic, carrying out a textbook lane swap that the Korean champions simply could not answer.
Remember, however, that SKT is still SKT. Early disadvantages were completely countered by immaculate rotations and macro play. Bang exploded for a 7/1/15 performance that Fnatic could not answer for. Faker pulled out the surprise Vel'Koz to counter Febiven's Lissandra. His poke was nearly impossible for a short range Fnatic composition to deal with. Duke also gave SKT a dominating presence on Poppy. For further insurance, Lee "Wolf" Jae-wan zoned out his foes with stellar Braum play.
To be fair, Fnatic made very few mistakes in this match aside from a greedy fight in the top lane 20 minutes into the contest. They routinely found solid engages onto SKT that would have resulted in teamfight victories over anyone else. SK Telecom simply outclassed them with superior talent, however. Perhaps a Lucian pick for Rekkles may have given Fnatic a greater level of dynamism that could have given them a victory in the contest. Regardless, the reigning champions took a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
Winner: SK Telecom T1
Game 3
SK Telecom T1:
Bans:
Jhin, Lulu, Gragas
Picks:
Nautilus, Nidalee, Zed, Lucian, Alistar
Fnatic:
Bans:
Braum, Poppy, Ezreal
Picks:
Graves, Lee Sim, Corki, Kalista, Thresh
Fnatic adapted well from game one to game two. They did not adapt well from game two to game three.?
They took away the Poppy and Ezreal from SKT, but opted out of the available Kalistar lane in favor of a Thresh pick for support newcomer Johan "Klaj" Olsson. Fnatic doomed themselves from the beginning, running a triple marksman composition into a Zed, Alistar, and Nautilus. They had no frontline, weak waveclear, and no clear win condition.
SKT expertly played these advantages to their benefit.
This game was effectively over quite quickly. SKT jumped out to an early advantage that allowed them to win fights with poor positioning, including one 4v5 clash in a choke point. Fnatic simply did not have a composition capable of answering their opponents strong CC and damage.
This game quickly turned into a soloQ style tilt. Klaj could be seen on camera repeatedly smiling and laughing after lost fights, and the two finalists trolled each other back and forth before an unexpected surrender 22 minutes into the match.
Winner: SK Telecom T1
CHAMPION: SK Telecom T1
SK Telecom T1 was the easy favorite to win this tournament as they were during the season three and five world championships. With expert macro play and stellar individual performances, they certainly did not disappoint. They did not drop a single game against their IEM Katowice opposition, and proved to the world that though they aren't at the top of their region, they can still steamroll some of the world's best franchises.
