Fnatic blows away 100 Thieves in Lock//In São Paulo quarterfinals
In his quarter-final against 100 Thieves, Fnatic inflicted a severe beating on the American team. An unexpected performance that propelled them into the semi-finals of the LOCK//IN São Paulo.
The 13-1 that hurts on Fracture
So far, while Fnatic is undoubtedly among the public favourites, however, they are not the favourites in the EMEA region. Their first two games were even rather worrying, as they were so close. One example is the long overtime against Furia, which ended with a score of 18-16. Yet the team did not give the impression of struggling for a second in their quarter-final against 100 Thieves.
The first round took place on Fracture; a map chosen by 100 Thieves who would soon regret their choice. Even though both teams had not yet played on it, it is nevertheless a pick that is very much appreciated by Fnatic. And it showed. Boaster and his allies simply played the big game all the way through. The strategy was well honed and the whole team was well in place, especially Leo with a cheeky KDA of 18/3/4 in only 14 rounds played. Once the bonus round is over, it will have taken only one Boaster's clutch in the 4th round to lock up the game and its economy. Fnatic never conceded again and was able to inflict a terrible 13-1.
This is definitely a scoreline that one would not expect to see at this stage of the competition, especially between two favourites and muses of their respective regions. Fnatic fans were delighted with such a result, so much so that even the Community Manager had a field day.
A more balanced confrontation on Icebox
Once again, Fnatic controlled the beginning of the game in Defence. With a Derke effective in taking up space and the Sage of Chronicle which acted as a bulwark, 100Thieves was only able to win two rounds in Attack.
At this point, one would have expected another one-sided match, and yet. With only 3 rounds left for Fnatic to win to close the match, the 100 Thieves did not let themselves be buried. They managed to adapt to the Europeans' game in a final surge. But the pressure exerted by Fnatic in post-plant and the accuracy of Derke to the Operator, eventually made the difference. They concluded the second map with a closer score of 13-10.
Just like NaVi before them, Fnatic has qualified for the semi-finals of the Omega group. It is thus on 3rd March at 6pm that will take place a fratricidal match between the two remaining European teams in this tournament.
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