Fnatic are headed to The International 2017 as the second team to represent the SEA region. This marks the organization's first appearance at a Valve Major event since TI6.
Yesterday TnC were directly seeded into TI7 with their spectacular top place finish after edging Fnatic out following their decisive tie-breaking series in the SEA regional qualifier group stage.
Fnatic were left to pick up the pieces and earn their tickets to Seattle the long and hard way. First they took on Execration - knocking them down to the lower brackets with a 2:0 sweep. Next they stepped up to the plate in the upper bracket finals and knocked it out of the park, dismantling Clutch Gamers two games in a row.
Clutch Gamers went for deathball strategy, while Fnatic opted for single target approach. A strong start by Clutch Gamers was quickly answered by Fnatic. Their hero killing prowess, their lane dominance and their execution was overwhelming for Clutch Gamers, who quickly fell to the pressure in 42 minutes. Lai "Ahjit" Jay Son's performance on Ursa was flawless helping to propel Fnatic into a convincing first game lead.
Looking to keep themselves alive and in the game, Clutch Gamers left their comfort zone of fight oriented drafts and were pulled into reactionary choices as Fnatic looked to be setting the tempo immediately. As expected based off of their control in the draft, Fnatic took the first blood and lead early on. Despite the great rotations and stand out moments, Clutch Gamers had too many hurdles to overcome and a gap that became too massive to bridge. The rising team from the Philippines were unable to stave off defeat and fell to the lower bracket finals for one more chance to lock down a spot for TI7.
Action resumes tomorrow at 06:00 CEST in the lower brackets between Execration and Mineski followed by the lower bracket finals. One more team from the region will find themselves bound for Seattle, Washington in August.
Fnatic
The Malaysian based team had a rough stretch during the past year, plagued with roster instability, sub-par performances and missed opportunities for participation at LAN events. In April, the team added to their roster three - Galvin 'Meracle' Kang Jian Wen, Kim 'QO' Seon-yeop and Djardel Jicko B. 'DJ' Mampusti. Regardless of the prominance of the lineup, the team struggled to find a foothold on the SEA landscape and one month later Lai 'Ahjit' Jay Son was brought on board to replace Meracle. The finalized lineup seems to have hit the sweet spot of chemistry and will now grace the TI7 stage - a dream that seemed too far off only a few months ago.
Fnatic Roster:
Lai 'Ahjit' Jay Son
Kim 'QO' Seon-yeop
Chong Xin 'Ohaiyo' Khoo
Djardel Jicko B. 'DJ' Mampusti
Kim 'Febby' Yong-min
