Tomorrow, Fnatic will embark on their journey to the semifinals, being one of the two teams to represent the West in these quarterfinals. Origen already has advanced to the semis, and Fnatic is attempting to do the same. Fnatic claimed the 1-seed out of Group B, after dominating Cloud 9, and continuing that success throughout the second-half of the group stages. EDG makes it as the second-seed out of Group C, where SKT took first. EDG struggled against SKT, but managed to combine wins against H2K and BKT to survive and advance.
Both teams going into Wolrds had good odds to make the championship, and even win the championship if you had to pick a team to beat SKT. Both teams were under whelming in the first half of groups, but still show the power to dominate any team.
Fnatic features a carry top lane in Huni, a consistent jungler in Reignover, an excellent mid in Febiven, and one of the top bottom-lane duo's in Rekkles and Yellowstar.
EDG showcases a consistent top lane in AmazingJ, a great jungle in Clearlove, arguably the second-best mid lane in this tournament in PawN, and one of the top ADC's in Deft, paired with Meiko.
This matchup was easily the best matchup looking at the quarterfinals. Both teams that can matchup to SKT in theory, and they have to play each other as soon as the final 8.
Top Lane - Huni - AmazingJ
Advantage: Huni
Huni brings an advantage in the top lane because of the meta. The main thing holding back Huni in the groups was his ego. He took big risks, seemingly to try and show the world how good he was, and it backfired a lot on him. Huni came into MSI months ago and made instant impact, and it seemed he wanted to do the same in the groups but was a bit too confident. AmazingJ has been under whelming in the tournament thus far. He posted just a 2.9 KDA in the groups, and really struggled. He'll be a big factor in this series as if Huni gets what he wants then this series will likely be over.
Jungle - Reignover - Clearlove
Advantage: Clearlove
In comparing both teams, Clearlove statistically has the largest impact on the series. Clearlove's 7.6 KDA is the most between both teams, and his 86% kill participation is far ahead of Fnatic, with just Rekkles being the nearest Fnatic player at 69%. The jungle/bot lane synergy will be the area of concern for Fnatic. Clearlove has been on point with Deft and Meiko, as them three are the largest in kill participation. Reignover will need to impact the game by either predicting when Clearlove will be bot, or be ahead of the game and make plays with the bot lane prior to Clearlove being around.
Mid Lane - Febiven - PawN
Advantage: PawN
Although a slight advantage, PawN in theory presents a huge threat to any mid lane in the world other than Faker. PawN has been the second-best for a while now and the matchup will come down to if Febiven can counterpick him, or Reignover can make an impact. Febiven should not be considered at a huge disadvantage, though. Febiven has shown he can hang with the top-tier mid laners of the world and will surely want to prove that to everyone watching.
AD Carry - Rekkles - Deft
Advantage: Deft
Although Deft is given the advantage, this is a toss-up. If Fnatic does lane swaps and transitions that into mid-game fighting, Rekkles will surely have the advantage. Deft will gt an advantage in a 2v2 matchup, because in theory we've seen Deft completely take over games and solo-carry EDG to wins. Deft used to be the feared adc in the world prior to EDG's collapse in the LPL summer season. It will depend on how both teams attack the game.
Support - Yellowstar - Meiko
Advantage: Yellowstar
This could be a toss-up, but in this writer's opinion, Yellowstar brings pressure all over the map. Yellowstar features a wide champion pool and is Fnatic's veteran leadership making calls. Yellowstar dictates the game how he feels puts Fnatic in a good spot, and that could be a huge factor in Fnatic winning this series.
Overall Advantage: Fnatic
Not only do Fnatic have good matchups in lanes, they also show a homecrowd presence in Europe for this series. This homecrowd brings a vibe that you could feel while Origen was playing, and should be even larger with Fnatic playing. In lanes, EDG features advantages at their main carry roles in mid, jungle, and adc, but their disadvantage in top lane could be a real issue for them. This writer thinks Fnatic can hold their own fine in mid and bot lane, and let Huni carry in the top lane. We're going to see an exciting series and one that will likely go to 5 games.
