Following a 1-2 week in the 2023 LEC Winter season, Fnatic are already swimming in rough waters in the top European league for League of Legends.

The legacy organization entered the season with high expectations, but they were quickly unable to live up to them after shockingly losing their first game to Vitality and then being thoroughly outplayed by G2 Esports.

Can Fnatic Climb back?

Nevertheless, Fnatic players displayed glimpses of their promise in both matches, and their victory over KOI allowed them to escape going winless for the week. Some fans believe the club's poor start to the season portends a bleak future, but they also faced the most difficult schedule of any team and demonstrated their ability to excel in a variety of areas.

Fnatic may be able to set the tone and climb to the top of the standings if they play their cards well. Fans are concerned that there is little tolerance for error in the 2023 LEC format.

Only three weeks will make up the winter season. The teams' strengths will then be tested as they compete in best-of-three matches in the group stage, meaning Fnatic must not only win the majority of their remaining games but also hone their strategy to advance through the group stage and earn a spot in the playoffs in March.

Early Game Crisis

Fnatic lost the early game advantage in all three of this week's games. In their defense, it wasn't always the team's composition that made a difference, especially when playing three teams that were known for being proactive early in the game.

However, during their second encounter against G2, flaws in the application of their approach were evident. Despite Hans Sama's Draven choice being G2's win condition, Fnatic chose to give the French AD carry two free kills within the first five minutes of the fight rather than playing it safe. The team's loss turned out to be significantly influenced by the opening game.

Generally speaking, it's bad for Fnatic to let opponents control the pace of the game early on, and this year's structure makes it much riskier. Teams will play fewer games before moving on to the best-of-three group stage, which will give Fnatic less time and information to analyze their opponents' tactics.

Fnatic must take the initiative to win games and make sure they are not caught off guard once more, as they were against Vitality. For the players and new head coach Crusher, who is making his debut in a top league, this can be a struggle. Strong personalities are a blessing or a curse for Fnatic's players depending on how he manages them.

Gameplay Switch

The junglers on professional teams frequently have a significant impact on the playstyles of those teams, and Razork is one of the LEC's most aggressive players. He demonstrated in Misfits that he could outplay heroes like Xin Zhao and Nidalee. Fnatic has a lot to gain by giving their buddy carry picks for this reason.

In the first week, Fnatic opted for three very defensive compositions, instead focusing on their post-mid game macro talents. Although it is a workable plan, it also eliminates some of Razork's potential, which might make the squad better prepared to thwart various tactics.

Fnatic had the chance to adopt a more aggressive composition in their match versus KOI and seize the lead earlier in the game.

Instead, they concentrated on holding the game until they reached their powerspike, after which they controlled the game. But earlier, KOI controlled the game's tempo and accrued a significant gold edge. In large part because to Razork's Baron theft and his effective map control on Maokai, Fnatic was able to recover.

The following week, Fnatic will compete against 1-2 teams Team BDS, Excel, and Team Heretics. Despite appearing to be the favorites, Fnatic will be under extreme pressure in the forthcoming encounters.