Fnatic cemented its position on top of the pack in Group A on Friday when it shot down the Misfits to end a quick two game series and wrap up Week 8, Day 2 of the European League of Legends Championship Series in Berlin.
It was as exciting of a match as one would expect between these two teams, and both games were packed to the brim with teamfights and skirmishes. In Game 1, that nearly ruined Fnatic as the Misfits had the better composition for teamfighting by far. This was showcased when Misfits jungler Nubar "Maxlore" Sarafian got the better of his Fnatic counterpart Mads "Broxah" Brock-Pedersen in the early game thanks to an excellent counter gank. Things only looked to be improving for Misfits as the game wore on, as it time and again got the better of Fnatic in skirmishes -- especially since mid laner Rasmus "Caps" Winther seemed intent upon ending his own life as often as possible -- but in the end the entire game turned off one pick from Fnatic, which it leveraged into a very sudden victory. In the span of two minutes the game went from even to completely over, as the game-ending teamfight was started by a five-man GNAR!!! from top laner Paul "sOAZ" Boyer that instantly shattered the Misfits' ranks.
Game 2 was a totally different affair, however, as this time it was entirely the Fnatic show, largely thanks to Caps' superb play on his mid lane Shadow Assassin Kayn, the first time we've seen either version of Kayn in the mid lane in competitive play, as well as the first time we've seen Shadow Assassin Kayn in Europe. Caps used Kayn's combination of damage and unparalleled mobility to catch out Steven "Hans Sama" Liv over and over again in side lanes, and without its ADC Misfits didn't have the brute force necessary to stop Fnatic from taking the game in barely over 25 minutes.
Despite his flashy performance in Game 2, Caps was not the MVP of the series. His abysmal Orianna performance in Game 1 was simply too egregious for him to earn that accolade. Instead, the MVP award fell upon sOAZ, who had an altogether solid series in the top lane, even if he didn't have the same number of eye catching plays that Caps did. They were both responsible for winning the game for their team in one of the two games of the series, but sOAZ managed to look excellent in both games, not just Game 1, a feat that Caps simply couldn't replicate. The Misfits' inability to push its lead in Game 1 can be wholly attributed to the side lane pressure that sOAZ put down, and he did the same in Game 2, which ensured that the Misfits never even found an opportunity to take a big teamfight before they were already 10,000 gold behind.