Team ROCCAT defied the odds to earn an improbable 2-1 victory over Fnatic on Thursday to close out the first day of Week 3 in the European League of Legends Championship Series in Berlin.
Fnatic's lack of initiation meant things were even early in Game 1. It managed to secure first blood, but then failed to use that to its advantage, causing the game to settle into a lull. ROCCAT (1-2, 4-5 match record) tried to get something going in the midgame, but chose to commit to a disadvantageous teamfight that went heavily in Fnatic's favor. Fnatic (3-1, 7-3 match record) picked up four kills and used the momentum from that fight to pick up the first of two Barons in the game, which all but closed the book on the game. While it took another 17 minutes to get the win, at no point did it seem like ROCCAT had a chance. Fnatic finally made a strong push around 40 minutes to take the Nexus and Game 1.
Fnatic started off well once again in Game 2, despite ROCCAT having a composition centered around early game pressure. Fnatic jungler Mads "Broxah" Brock-Pedersen was on fire in the early game picking up kills left and right on his Lee Sin. These early advantages allowed Fnatic to snowball into a massive 10,000-gold lead by the time the late game hit. Instead of using that lead to push into ROCCAT's base, however, Fnatic played very passive, which gave ROCCAT the smallest of windows back into the game. ROCCAT started picking up teamfight wins until getting one last pick that led to a 43-minute Baron. The Baron buff allowed ROC to push right into Fnatic's base to overcome an incredible deficit in a massive 45-minute win. ROCCAT AD carry Petter "Hjärnan" Freyschuss' Varus was the driving force of the comeback with his game-high 42,900 damage dealt to champions giving his team the edge in those final fights.
ROCCAT rode the high of its Game 2 win with another strong showing from the start of the final game. While Fnatic came up with the first blood, its bot lane gave up two silly kills to give ROCCAT a chance to stick even in the early game. By the time 15 minutes had passed, ROCCAT managed to edge its way into a lead across the entire map to limit Fnatic's influence. ROCCAT still didn't own a huge lead going into the late game, giving Fnatic a chance to wrestle back control of the game. FNC went for two Barons in the late game, and both times the Baron was stolen away by jungle Milo "Pridestalker" Wehnes' Warwick. The Baron steals completely broke Fnatic's will and allowed ROCCAT to take a convincing 33-minute win to complete the miraculous comeback.
ROCCAT will hope to build on this win with a matchup against Ninjas in Pyjamas on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET, while Fnatic will have to wait until next Thursday to try and bounce back against H2k at 2 p.m. ET.