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LEC Summer 2022 is heading into finals

After a turbulent split, Fnatic are now one match away from the 2022 LEC Summer Finals. The 2022 LEC... Scott Kostov | 9. September 2022

After a turbulent split, Fnatic are now one match away from the 2022 LEC Summer Finals.

The 2022 LEC Summer Split has been a tale of two halves in every sense possible. Everyone knew Fnatic’s roster had the quality to compete at the highest levels. But we just didn’t see enough cohesion from them, until the playoffs started. G2 lost to every team in the playoffs and even gave Team BDS their first win, halfway through the split. But now they look like Europe’s only chance of getting out of Groups stage at Worlds. 

G2 looking for their 10th LEC Championship

2022 proved what G2 learned in 2021. Super teams in League of Legends just don’t work out. Team Liquid and Vitality were the latest victims and a few weeks ago, Fnatic’s roster was in the same company. After failing to qualify for Worlds 2021, G2 went out and retooled the roster, amid huge controversy. Bringing in two rookies in the bot lane signaled a rebuilding year, but G2 were back on their winning tracks after a few weeks. Despite looking shaky in the middle of the Summer Split, G2 closed it out firing on all cylinders. After securing the first seed during the Superweek, they raised the bar even higher in the playoffs. Dropping only one map on their way to their eleventh LEC finals might not sound as impressive unless you’ve watched how they have done it. G2 looks far and away like the best team in Europe at the moment, gladly awaiting the winner of the lower bracket semifinals between Fnatic and Rogue.

Rogue need a win, badly

Rogue have finished top three in every single LEC  split since 2020 came around. And what do they have to show for it? Two LEC Finals losses and two Worlds placements outside of the top 10. As great of a job the organization has done creating a winning roster around star mid-laner Larssen, something has been missing. The “Chogue” meme has been around for a while, and recent performances suggest Rogue blew their best chance at a LEC title in 2021 when G2 weren’t up to par. That was when Rogue got reverse swept in the LEC Finals by the MAD Lions. After being 3-0  by G2 in the upper bracket semifinals last week, Rogue are facing a tough weekend. Not only is their competitive fortitude being questioned, but they are also facing a Fnatic team that’s on the rise. Rogue might be a product of the flaws Western League of Legends competitions have compared to Eastern teams. But right now, Rogue need a win to prove a point to themselves.

Fnatic peaking at the right time

Fnatic’s subreddit would have been the best source of entertainment in 2022 if the team didn’t turn it around, but luckily for Europe, they did. From day one everyone knew this roster had the caliber to challenge the best teams internationally, it just wasn’t shown up until the LEC Superweek. This roster has experience in best of five series and should be able to give G2 a run for their money. But they need to go through Rogue first.  As great as Fnatic have been recently, we have seen them fail to meet expectations quite a lot in 2022. But if they manage to improve their coordination a bit more, they will be challenging for the LEC throne.

Header: Riot Games