In a matchup of European titans, Fnatic came out on top with a 2-1 win over G2 Esports on Thursday to close out the first day of Week 2 in the European League of Legends Championship Series in Berlin.
In Game 1, G2 (1-1, 3-3 match record) drafted a high-damage composition that could have easily dominated the late-game had it been given enough time to get going. And had G2 not fed Fnatic AD carry Martin "Rekkles" Larsson's Kennen three early kills, it certainly may have had the requisite time needed. Rekkles took the early advantage and ran with it, pushing Fnatic ahead from the early stages, never relinquishing the lead. Even a late teamfight win at 29 minutes wasn't enough for the defending EU LCS champions to get back in the contest, with Fnatic mid laner Rasmus "Caps" Winther pivotal on Orianna as FNC took one final 3-for-0 teamfight a few minutes later to help lock up the 33-minute win.
Fnatic (3-0, 6-1 match record) rode that wave of momentum into the second game and got off to a nice start with a Caps first blood, but G2 bounced back with a couple teamfight wins to keep things fairly even. G2 got a bit of breathing room in the form of two kills and an early 20-minute Baron, but wasn't able to push the advantage further with the buff. This allowed Rekkles to once again do damage with his Kennen, but as the game went on, G2 was finally able to scale into its late-game composition. Rekkles was unable to hold off G2 on his own, and Fnatic crumpled under G2's immense damage in the 39-minute G2 win.
G2 once again drafted a late-game composition in Game 3, and in a mirror of Game 1, wasn't allowed to unlock its potential. Fnatic jumped out of the gate with yet another first blood before Rekkles and his Kennen started to get into a groove. While G2 tried to use Ki "Expect" Dae-Han's Jarvan IV to roam around the map and pick up kills, it was no match for the unity of Fnatic. The team rarely split up, sticking together in bunches to easily win teamfight after teamfight and control the game. Rekkles finished with a 6/0/3 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) in Game 3, which brought his series KDA to 17/2/9 in Fnatic's monumental series victory.
Fnatic won't be back in action until next Thursday when it faces Team ROCCAT at 11 a.m. ET, while G2 Esports will play Saturday against Ninjas in Pyjamas at 2 p.m. ET.