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IEM Cologne Grand Finals Recap

FnaticRC 1:2 SK Telecom T1

DRAFT DETAILS AND TEAMS HISTORY


FnaticRC Roster
France Soaz (Top)
Finland Cyanide (Jungle)
Spain xPeke (AP)
Sweden Rekkles (AD)
Germany nRated (Support)
SKT1 Roster
Korea Reapered (Top)
Korea H0R0 (Jungle)
Korea MighTiLy (AP)
Korea UandME (AD)
Korea StarLast (Support)


Game 1:

FnaticvsSKT1_G1.PNG The series kicks off with Fnatic being kicked down in the very beginning. SKT would start the series off 5-1. This is a result of the terrible early game engages on Fnatic which would lead to every single member of SKT1 having a kill, which would lead to a very difficult and rough laning phase for Fnatic as the gold distribution was near perfect. Though SKT sustains the lead, Fnatic fights back valiantly to stay in the battle.

15 minutes in, nRated manages to land a very solid grab over the wall of dragon, but unfortunately this well executed mechanic would lead to their eventual demise. The target was H0R0 on Amumu and allowed him an open invitation to initiate a fight. Despite the strong engage by Blitz, SKT1 pulls out ahead and relentlessly maintains their lead.

Every single member of SKT1 was ahead of Fnatic, an unsuspected result considering the team's infancy as well as Fnatic being one of the eldest teams on the scene as well as one of the most successful as of recent times. Fnatic is looking to be man handled wherein even StarLast on Zyra is fed, having a 3-1-8 score with over 40 magic pen and over 40 CS. In fact, they are doubling Fnatic's kills (despite being even in towers) at 18 minutes in.

To exemplify the strength of SKT at this point in the game, Miss Fortune's build consisted of Bloodthirster, Zeal, and Last Whisper very early into the game, resulting in ultimates dealing staggering amounts of damage to the opposing team.

That is one hell of a strong team.
Strength%20of%20SKT1.PNG

Despite the gigantic lead by SKT1, Fnatic shows their prowess in teamwork and wins two fights in a row with minimal losses. The momentum wouldn't forever be in their favor though, as SKT1 would swing things back handily, closing the game out with 2 barons, a dragon, and a strong push to bring the next game of the series.



Game 2:

FnaticvsSKT1_G2.PNG It would appear that Fnatic learned their lesson from the spanking last game and, regrettably, had to spend a ban on Miss Fortune as UandME was much too dominant on it in the game prior. Even despite the constant First Blood's for Fnatic, SKT pulls ahead yet again 2-1 in the start. However, Fnatic maintains the gold lead despite that and manages to pick up some impressive kills mid lane with an excellent Blitz grab from a roaming nRated.

Another fight gravitates towards mid and Sona acquires two kills for herself; not ideal for the team but gold is gold! However, let's compare that to the state of Fnatic where the mighty Europeans are not having a 2-0 defeat. Rekkles, in this state, is ahead of Caitlyn despite being the weaker early game hero Fnatic is up 2 dragons, and sOAZ the great is up 5-0.

sOAZ being an absolute monster on his Lee Sin in game 2.


After a despairing team fight in the dragon area, Fnatic would be brought way in the lead, pulling ahead 9-4 and showing their mental constitution even after suffering a heavy blow in game 1. This results in them going for a quick baron that would leave SKT1 on their knees - SK surrenders game 2.

Game 3:

FnaticvsSKT1_G3.PNG At last, the final, nerve-wrecking game to decide the champions of IEM Cologne has come. Fnatic shows some of their excellent early game by forcing a flash out of MighTiLy immediately. Throughout the tournament, Fnatic has fought aggression with aggression, not backing down and being rewarded heavily for it.

Fun Fact: Fnatic has landed first blood in at least 6 of their games at IEM Cologne.


As the laning phase progresses, Fnatic and SK tie in kills with Fnatic ahead due to farm and turret advantage. Once again, sOAZ is doing incredibly well with his specialty Lee Sin top. Fnatic pulls ahead and takes down the first dragon of the game.

Just as the momentum and synergy was proving to put Fnatic ahead of the fresh Korean team, A grim fight erupts bottom for Fnatic, with Karthus running bottom unpunished, assisting in a crushing double score lead. On the side of objectives, Fnatic is still up in turrets at this point, however, gold difference puts them at a substantial disadvantage against SKT1's late game team composition.

You could tell that the nerves were getting the best of Fnatic; they seized to make plays and turtled up, scared at their turrets and on the defensive. SKT1 were showing their dominance and maintaining their spot in the driver's seat. This results in Fnatic getting simply crushed! 22 minutes in, Fnatic finds themselves down 6-16, with Reapered's wrath apparent and taunting sOAZ' carrying ability in the game prior.

No one wants to go toe-to-toe with Reapered's Olaf.


Although not getting completely bullied out of the set yet, Fnatic is looking hopeless in that they have absolutely no control over the map and, therefore, no control over the game. With a bare inhib which had already once fallen and the entirety of SKT1 performing absolutely phenomenally, SKT grabs a baron and pushes with all their might.

After shoving mid in a dominant and glorious fashion with simply ignore-able opposition on Fnatic's part, SKT1 rotate bottom and simply melt all of Fnatic and bask in their glory as they grab a 1st place in their very first international tournament.

st1place%20skt1%201.PNG

Stay tuned to GosuGamers for more updates in E-sports! Head over to our front page for fast and easy updates to everything you need regarding the E-sports scene, and our coverage hub" for all of the details regarding Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2012.



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