Fnatic knocks out FC Schalke 04, faces G2 Esports in LEC summer finals

William Davis Published 08/09/2019

Fnatic destroyed FC Schalke 04 in round three of the 2019 LEC Summer Playoffs.

Fnatic was merciless and took Schalke out in three quick, clean games. Now the squad is preparing to get the revenge on G2 Esports in the finals.

The team that was on display here has a real chance at defeating G2, and is one of the squads to watch at the 2019 League of Legends World Championship.

All about Rekkles

Fnatic started the series with a dominating game one.

The team placed a ward inside Schalke’s side of jungle, which helped them scout Kim “Trick” Gang-yun. The player did his best to set up plays in the early game, but the vision allowed Fnatic to retreat and stay safe whenever he tried for an offensive maneuver.

Fnatic’s strategy revolved around Martin “Rekkles” Larsson. The team funneled gold into him and did everything in their power to protect the main carry. Rekkles was everywhere on the map, moving through the lanes, getting farm, and killing enemies.

Schalke did what they could to get back in the game. Trick performed well for the team but it wasn’t enough to swing the momentum.

Fnatic took the baron buff, went for an aggressive push, and took the win.

Broxah smash!

Game two was decided at level two when Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen invaded the enemy jungle and walked away with two kills and the blue buff. That early rotation set a chaotic, frantic pace for the game.

Fnatic’s lineup was built for aggression and the players made the most of that. Zdravets “Hylissang” Iliev Galabov was deadly on Pyke, with the support hooking enemies even without vision. Fnatic kept pushing the tempo of the game and applied relentless pressure.

Schalke had the tools to fight and could succeed if they had a numbers advantage, but couldn’t do much in a direct engagement. Fnatic bottled them up and advanced to match point.

Fnatic is unstoppable

Schalke crumbled under the pressure in game three.

Fnatic successfully repeated the same play around the blue buff. Hylissang continued to shine through the series, with the support roaming early and pairing up with Broxah to get the mid lane going.

Schalke ran around the map putting out fires. It took a baron buff for Schalke to slow down the pace of the game but it wouldn’t last long.

Fnatic hunted the players around the map and shut down the baron buff power play before Schalke could get anything done.

Fnatic claimed the second baron buff and it was the final nail in the coffin. The team took three inhibitors and never left Schalke’s base. Schalke made one final, desperate attempt to fight and Fnatic was more than happy to get the kills and take the win.

Despite the loss, Schalke’s summer is not over yet. The team earned enough championship points to participate in the regional qualifiers.

William Davis

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