In a thrilling grand final set, Fnatic thrashed G2 Esports in a 3-0 sweep to secure the European League Championship Series spring split crown.
Throughout the entire split, there was an unshakeable feeling that a shift in the established hierachy was on its way. Fnatic put together an immaculate campaign and looked poised to finally knock G2 off its perch. The grand finals were no different, as Fnatic confirmed that feeling by picking G2 apart with ease.
Before eventually coming apart at the seams, G2 looked like its old self in the first half of Game 1. Jungler Marcin "Jankos" Jankowsi picked up first blood -- showing that he truly is the "first blood king" -- and putting Fnatic on the back foot early. G2 continued moving right along with a couple more teamfight wins to give the impression that it would easily walk away with the win. This all went according to plan for Fnatic, as it simply needed time to scale before turning into a scary five-man unit in teamfights.
From the second Fnatic won a massive 4-for-2 teamfight around Baron in Game 1, the series was decidedly over. Behind the incredible teamfighting presence that was AD carry Martin "Rekkles" Larsson, Fnatic pounded G2 into submission over the next two games to claim the title. There was a shaky moment towards the end of Game 1 where Fnatic almost lost after pushing too far into G2's base, but Rekkles simply responded with an unofficial pentakill with his Tristana to lock up the win.
Words simply can't do justice for Rekkles' performance throughout this series. While he has always been the backbone of Fnatic, this series was a testament of how crucial he really is to the success of this team. After securing the first game with an unofficial pentakill, he turned right around and picked up an official one with Sivir in Game 2 to put his team on championship point. His KDA (kills/deaths/assists) might have dipped a bit in the final game, but he still went 4/0/5 on Tristana to round out his deathless 20/0/13 KDA for the series.
It wasn't just Rekkles who came up big in this series, however, as mid laner Rasmus "Caps" Winther won the highly touted mid lane matchup between himself and Luka "PerkZ" Perkovic. With plenty of trash talk being slung between the two over the last couple weeks, Caps let it all out on the Rift with a stand-up performance that left no doubt as to who was on top. He even picked up an incredible solo kill onto Perkz's Karma with his Zoe to put a cherry on top of the sundae.
After a solid performance featuring decimating teamfights and all-around flawless play from Fnatic, the team will now look forward to the Mid-Season Invitational, where it will represent Europe in the first international tournament of 2018.