In the latest chapter of their rivalry, Fnatic defeated Origen 3:1 in the first LEC playoff round and continue their run in the winner’s bracket.
Europe’s most decorated team easily won the first two rounds and while Origen showed what they can do in Game 3, their dreams of a reverse sweep were quickly cut short.
Game 1: Easy draft, easy life
Fnatic started the opening game with a very good draft that left their opponents with few win conditions.
Origen’s woes continued in the early game, as a collapse saw them lose two players 8 minutes in. Meanwhile, in the middle lane, Fnatic’s mid Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek outfarmed Erlend “Nukeduck” Våtevik Holm.
An attempt to kill Martin “Rekkles” Larsson 16 minutes in backfired to give Fnatic two more kills and a tower to extend their gold lead to some 6K. OG were eventually able to finally get their first kill on the opposing AD carry two minutes later but they lost four in return.
Zdravets “Hylissang” Galabov’s Zilean kept his teammate alive long enough for everyone else to collapse. The game was fully in “stomp” territory, with Fnatic pretty much owning the map. They secured an ocean soul 24 minutes in and two minutes later, they started the Baron only to turn when Origen came to contest.
The fight was as one-sided as all previous ones and after three kills, Fnatic abandoned the Baron to end the game instead.
Game 2: Timelord Hyllisang
Origen had a better start for the second game, taking an early drake and a gold lead on a composition with a lot of area damage. At 9 minutes in, they appeared to have found a pick but Fnatic collapsed first and secured first blood.
Origen got a kill back three minutes later as their opponents attempted a risky towerdive but they chased too far. A masterful teamfight by Fnatic resulted in an early ace and a 2K gold lead.
The difference stayed constant for some 10 minutes but eventually, Fnatic were able to turn on the pressure. Time and again, Hylissang’s Zilean made Origen look foolish as they faced an offense with no weak points.
The game quickly spun out of control as Fnatic ran amok on the map until eventually securing an uncontested Baron 25 minutes in. Origen were too late to stop it and even worse – they proceeded to lose three in a 5v4 fight. Fnatic quickly took two inhibitors, ending the game on the next attack.
Game 3: Origen wake up
Origen were now on the ropes and needed to win three consecutive games to win.
However, they were ready for a fight, taking an early first blood against Hylissang. Fnatic suddenly seemed off their game as they overstepped several more times, and their bot lane fell far behind. Their attempt to sneak the Baron 20 minutes in was quickly discovered and three minutes later, Origen secured the big objective themselves.
However, Hylissang used that time to split-push and got to the inhibitor. While Origen’s carries were fed, Fnatic’s map presence allowed them to weather the Baron push, losing only one tower. The split-pushing allowed them to stay in the game and deny the dragon soul until 36 minutes in.
Eventually, however, Hylissang was caught and the man advantage allowed Origen to take another Baron.
The challengers finally got their teamfight three minutes later, smashing Fnatic in an extended ace to take the game and the first step towards coming back in the series.
Game 4: All’s well that ends well
After their first win, Origen were hungry for blood. In the early game, they ran all over Fnatic, taking an early lead in the bottom and top lanes.
At that time, OG were some 2.5K gold lead at 10 minutes and took two towers soon afterward. Even better, a lot of the gold was on Elias “Upset” Lipp’s Aphelios and Barney “Alphari” Morris’ Gangplank, two champions who had the tools to win the mid-game fights.
It seemed like we were going to see a Game 5, but 26 minutes in, Origen went for a Baron that turned the game around. They saw Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek and turned to kill him, but due to their split focus, Fnatic quickly killed Upset and routed the rest of his team, taking three more kills and securing the Baron.
Origen’s aggressive composition and itemization struggled to fight from behind and they were soon corralled in their base. A desperate defense in front of the Nexus got them a 4-1 fight but it was not enough to recover and on the next attack, Fnatic ended the game and the series.
For Origen, this must be a bitter pill to swallow as they were out-drafted hard in the first two games, then after getting back in the series proceeded to throw. On the other hand, it was to Fnatic’s credit that they started the series so strong. While they had some iffy decisions in the latter part of the series, they capitalized on a key mistake to turn Game 1 around and seal the deal.
Next week, they will be facing MAD Lions after their huge upset against G2, while Origen takes on the winner between Misfits Gaming and Rogue in the lower playoff bracket.
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If the playoff format sounds confusing, check out our playoff guide. The LEC playoffs continue with the match between Rogue and Misfits.
