MAD Lions eradicated Fnatic from the 2023 LEC Spring Break up after a hard-fought collection that led League of Legends followers on a rollercoaster of feelings. After three video games and a couple of quadrakill, it was MAD Lions who stored their hopes to advance to the playoffs stage of the competitors alive. They’re now one step nearer to amassing their tickets for the Mid Season Invitational whereas Fnatic must await the Summer time Break up earlier than stepping onto the LEC stage once more.
After MAD Lions dominated the primary recreation from the early stage and Fnatic tied the rating with a win in the second, all of it got here down to 1 teamfight within the third and closing recreation. As Rekkles advised Dot Esports, the collection was “fairly bloody” as a result of errors made by each side, however in Elyoya’s eyes the video games had been “managed” for MAD Lions’ half—and the gold graph for the primary recreation reveals it.
At 23 minutes into the sport, MAD Lions had been forward by 5,000 gold after taking down the Baron with confidence as Fnatic’s jungler Razork had simply been taken down. The strain they utilized to all lanes made Fnatic retreat and play passively to MAD Lions’ fixed engages. In the end, Hylissang discovered the suitable angle to strike and convey the primary recreation to his crew.
Fnatic stored their composure getting into the second tilt, and continued doing so all through the sport as the 2 groups fought head-on in every teamfight. Elyoya’s ganks had been a vital issue for MAD Lions’ success, however one dive underneath a tier two turret in bot lane turned the the sport in favor of Fnatic because of Rekkles’ intervention. “That was fully [a] circus play,” mentioned Elyoya after the match whereas considering again on the the explanation why Fnatic took the second recreation of the collection.
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After that, Fnatic caught MAD Lions’ jungler as soon as extra across the Baron pit, and with Elyoya gone, Rekkles and his teammates took down the impartial goal and moved to strain all lanes with the acquired buff. One push into the opponent’s base was all it took to finish the second recreation.
It was do-or-die for the final recreation of the collection, and after a forwards and backwards recreation all of it got here right down to the final two teamfights. MAD Lions had managed the Rift with imaginative and prescient management and by taking down impartial goals round which fights had occurred. Nonetheless, Fnatic had been resilient and fought again with proactive performs in opposition to MAD Lions’ strain in lane.
In the end, MAD Lions’ energy resided in their ADC Carzzy and his late-game Jinx, who, protected by the entire crew, obliterated Fnatic during what was the last fight of the series. After the match, Rekkles advised Dot that Jinx had “an excessive amount of management” within the final recreation, and thought that perhaps if he had gone with a unique AD carry he might have stopped her. “I believed Sivir labored fairly nicely within the first recreation, and it might have labored fairly nicely on this one as nicely, exterior of the Jinx matchup,” mentioned Fnatic’s bot laner.
Regardless of the consequence, Rekkles’ Sivir gifted his crew with a quadrakill and an ideal alternative to take down MAD Lions’ nexus. Unfortunatel,y the respawn timers of Mad Lions’ gamers aligned with Fnatic’s try to shut the sport, resulting in a comeback from Elyoya’s team. “I’ll must assessment recreation three as a result of I’m unsure what occurred,” shared Elyoya when requested about the previous couple of minutes of the match. “I really feel like we misplayed many, many fights. I feel we had been getting caught in numerous fights. Like Razork was reaching our again line actually simply after which we simply didn’t have observe up on the entrance line.”
As Rekkles underlined after the match, the final recreation might have been taken by both crew: “I feel we’d as nicely have gained this actually, with just a few various things. Perhaps if the early recreation went higher recreation three, I feel our comp was fairly good.”
However in the long run, it was MAD Lions who superior to the following match, which can see them face Astralis subsequent week for a spot within the LEC Spring Break up Playoffs.
