What is Fnatic planning for its LEC team this offseason?

William Davis Published 29/10/2020

Offseason rumors are floating around left and right around Fnatic.

After finishing top eight in the 2020 League of Legends World Championship, Fnatic’s offseason has now begun. The team took heavy favorites Top Esports to five games. Very few expected Fnatic to put up a fight against the LPL champions, but Fnatic exited the tournament looking stronger than it did entering.

Despite the decent performance at Worlds, there are still quite a few rumors saying that Fnatic will be making big changes in the offseason.

Nemesis could leave Fnatic for the 2021 LEC season

While this year’s offseason roster swaps don’t begin until November 16, there are a lot of rumors surrounding Fnatic. Rumor has it that mid laner Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek won’t be on Fnatic in 2021 and that the team is currently shopping the Slovenian mid laner to other organizations.

The rumor about Nemesis leaving was first brought by Esporin, with the report also saying that 1907 Fenerbahce mid laner Ersin “Blue” Gören is one of the candidates to replace him. That said, Fnatic is still looking at other options and may not commit to Blue.

[Rumour] Fnatic still has a lot of midlane options. But Lider seems to be one of the frontrunners. Other names include players you would or would not expect.

Hylli/Bwipo duo is more likely to stay with Fnatic than not, Misfits is one of the teams interested in them.
— LEC Wooloo ???????? (@LEC_Wooloo) October 26, 2020

There have also been talks that the talented mousesports mid laner Adam “LIDER” Ilyasov could be joining. Another potential, but a more unlikely candidate, is current G2 Esports bot laner Luka “Perkz” Perković. The superstar might consider going back to the mid lane, which would create another tough decision for G2. The solution might be that Perkz goes to chase his mid lane dreams on Fnatic, adding a new layer to the LEC’s foremost rivalry.

The sheer number of rumors suggests that nothing is set in stone, but that changes will likely be happening.

The rest of the Fnatic squad seems to be fairly safe for now, even though there have been some rumors of both support Zdravets “Hylissang” Galábov and top laner Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau being replaced. Their strong performances in Worlds 2020 may have changed the organization’s mind, if a change was being considered, but Fnatic might still look elsewhere if the right player comes available.

A change likely needs to be made if the organization wants be a serious contender on the international stage, though. Fnatic has settled into a second-place spot on the European scene, and will need to remedy that before eyeing the Summoner’s Cup.

The offseason officially kicks off on November 16 and some news on that day from Fnatic wouldn’t come as a surprise.

William Davis

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