Just weeks after qualifying for The Summit 8, Fnatic continues its run of steady performances by qualifying for DreamLeague Season 8. Only the second Valve Major of the season, DreamLeague Season 8 will have a US$1,000,000 prize pool alongside 1,500 Qualifying Points for The International 8.
The SEA Qualifiers were no walk in the park as Fnatic came up against the likes of TNC Pro Team and HappyFeet from The Philippines as well as local rivals Mineski.
Their first game was a clean two-nil sweep of Filipino powerhouse TNC Pro Team. With its latest roster update, Fnatic wouldn’t be an easy opponent and they proved their worth, styling over TNC Pro Team in both games.
Game one featured Abed “Abed” Yusop on Queen of Pain, one of his better mid lane heroes due to her high burst damage and mobility, which made him a real threat throughout the game. Only lasting 37 minutes, the game left Abed at a 14-0-8 KDA, a perfect game if you’ve ever seen any.
Game two took a little bit longer than game one but the results were fairly similar as Fnatic steamrolled through TNC Pro Team from the moment it started. Abed was on one of the most elusive heroes in the game, Puck while Khoo “Ohaiyo” Chong Xin was on an offlane Earthshaker and both the supports were on teamfight-heavy heroes in the form of Warlock and Earth Spirit. This allowed Fnatic a stable line-up that allowed for great pick-off potential as well as teamfight capabilities.
After making their way through to the Finals, Fnatic were up against Mineski, another Malaysian team that has already made a name for themselves in the Pro Circuit.
Everyone could already see this game going to all three games and rightly so it did. Mineski took game one convincingly, putting in the necessary work to make it tougher for Fnatic.
Compared to their games against TNC Pro Team, Fnatic’s draft against Mineski was unorthodox to say the least. This allowed Mineski to take a firm hold in the game, even with Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung’s Venomancer dying on more than one occasion. Kam “NaNa” Boon Seng’s Mirana was one of the key players in game one, dictating team fights alongside Daryl Koh “iceiceice” Pei Xiang.
With their backs against the wall, Fnatic were one game away from dropping into the Lower Bracket and they responded in kind.
Abed was on his Queen of Pain yet again, wrecking havoc whenever possible. Backed by Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao’s Lifestealer, Fnatic were able to keep a sizeable gold lead, even if Mineski managed to keep the teamfights at a stalemate. The game did turn towards Fnatic’s favour at the 31-minute mark with Mineski’s Roshan attempt being foiled by Abed. This was followed by a triple kill from him, giving themselves an even greater lead and soon after, Mineski’s based crumbled.
Taking things to a rubber match, it was anyone’s game at this point. Mineski went for a questionable carry Slardar, which has been known to be a very slow farmer. Fnatic responded with a Razor, which renders Slardar essentially useless. Coupled with an Abed Invoker, the draft alone already foretold the result of the game.
What was disappointing was Mushi’s performance on Slardar as he was rendered useless in the game, dying four times in 15 minutes. This really slowed down his farm rate while Envy’s Razor was racking up kills and farm at the same time. Abed also managed to put on a show-stopping performance on his Invoker, avoiding death by the skin of his teeth. This isn’t to say Mineski were playing poorly; on the contrary, Mineski were playing out of their minds. However, that wasn’t enough to deter Fnatic from their ultimate goal, which was Mineski’s throne.
Things got from bad to worse for Mineski after being knocked down to the lower bracket by Fnatic. They faced up against TNC Pro Team and lost in straight sets, which sets up a grand final rematch between Fnatic and TNC Pro Team.
In a surprising turn of events, TNC Pro Team managed to take the first game from Fnatic. What looked like a conventional draft until the last pick of Doom made the game all the more exciting. This forces most of Fnatic to rush up Linken Sphere’s as an item of choice to counter Doom’s Ultimate.
From the get-go, Fnatic were seemingly on the back foot as TNC Pro Team managed to outmanoeuvre and outplay Fnatic on multiple occasions. Even in terms of decision-making, Fnatic made some very questionable decisions, which ultimately resulted in them dropping the first game.
With a one-nil lead, TNC Pro Team were looking to capitalise on that with a stable, well-rounded line-up. Fnatic had other plans however, picking up a Medusa and Storm Spirit alongside a Beastmaster. This allowed EternaLEnVy both time and space to farm up while Abed and Ohaiyo went around the map, wrecking havoc to TNC Pro Team whenever possible. Abed’s Storm Spirit in particular was causing the most mayhem, being able to pick off a solo hero on his own in a matter of seconds. This made it much harder for TNC Pro Team to catch up and they eventually tapped out after 34 minutes.
Game three saw EternaLEnVy on his Medusa once again as well as Abed on his Storm Spirit. TNC Pro Team did manage to start the game well, picking up key kills on Medusa countless times, which gifted them a substantial gold lead. Things went from bad to worse at the 27-minute mark as Fnatic lose four heroes in a teamfight, leaving Storm Spirit as the lone survivor.
After failing to breach on Fnatic’s base, TNC Pro Team were slowly losing their grip on the game with Slark and Juggernaut getting picked off. This gifted Fnatic Roshan and eventually, the top barracks of TNC Pro Team’s base. Soon after, Storm Spirit picked up an Aghnamin’s Scepter, which allowed for some slick four-man Electric Vortex plays.
Come 1 December 2017, Fnatic will go up against seven other teams from around the world. They will have their work cut out for them as they will be facing teams like Na’Vi, Team Secret, Team Liquid, Virtus.pro, Evil Geniuses, Newbee and Infamous.
