Fnatic really made their mark at Lol Worlds 2022, defeating T1 in groups who would eventually go on to the grand finals. They also made quite the run through playoffs before falling to future champions Rogue in the losers' bracket finals.
All this can make it easy to forget how shaky their regular season was in Summer. Having to go through two tiebreakers to get into playoffs, it was a very close call. Here's how they could end up repeating the mistakes of G2 in 2021, or worse, with their new team.
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New Fnatic LEC Team
The team's topside put on quite a display at Worlds 2022. Wunder, Razork, and Humanoid have remained on the team, and you could be forgiven for expecting them to be just as dominant in the new LEC regular season.
However, when we remember how things went domestically for Fnatic in 2022, hopes begin to dwindle. Making playoffs in summer was never a sure thing, although they scraped through in the end. This was off the back of Upset, however, with standout carry performances on his Zeri.
The topside was famously lacklustre domestically, and this will need to change if they are to see success this year. Rekkles is in a similar spot, with a great performance in spring but less so in summer. He is not known for putting down the same carry performances as Upset, which could hurt Fnatic.
Team Identity
Another key issue the team are likely to face is figuring out their play style. Both Wunder and Rekkles are known for excelling on the weakside, playing with fewer resources to enable other carries.
When both side lanes play like this though, all the emphasis to carry is placed in the mid-lane. Humanoid can certainly pop off, but hasn't shown us this ability in the regular season yet.
If Fnatic can sort these issues, then their calibre of players can carry them a long way. If they flounder in the same was as last year however, they are doomed to repeat the year of 2021 G2, with amazing players but no tactics to back them up.