Upset demolishes first game of the LEC Summer Split while leading Fnatic to a new horizon

European League of Legends fans were treated to an absolute nuts game between two of the LEC’s best teams to finish off the first day of the 2022 Summer Split, with Fnatic battling out against Rogue for early season supremacy and a possible head to head advantage later on.

Both teams are coming in hot looking for redemption in this Summer Split, suffering an embarrassing series at the hands of G2 Esports during the 2022 Spring Playoffs. Both Fnatic and Rogue finished the regular season with the two best records of any team within the regular league stage, but their roads to the 2022 Mid Season Invitational did not end as expected from them, leaving both teams to replant their plans for the current Summer Split looking for a spot at Worlds 2022.

The last time these two teams faced in a game, Rogue absolutely demolished Fnatic in the upper bracket of the Spring playoffs. However in the recent game, Fnatic was able to win the long stalemate battle with the power of the Hextech Dragon and its Hextech Gates. This win is especially sweet for Fnatic as one of its main flaws last split was the lack of patience while closing out games under high pressure.

Early in the game, Rogue and Fnatic found themselves locked in a long battle of attrition, pace changed by some exciting plays in the bottom lane for Fnatic. With Upset’s staple Draven pick looking to get the game snowballed via his build, his team continuously sent him support via ganks/vision/pressure as he slowly was able to take over and became a monster on the rift. On the other hand, Rogue didn’t quite hit the right spot in early game, failing multiple ganks into the top lane for Odoamne, but Wunder was able to sustain up all of that pressure with ease, using Gwen’s mobility and invulnerability to get away every time. Yes, “Gwen is immune” is still a thing that pro players especially in this case Odoamne absolutely hated.

Even though both teams were playing pretty well for top seeded teams, everyone in the stands knew that the game was going to break wide open soon enough. Fnatic ended up finding a really good teamfight in Rogue’s play, as they found a really good Hexgate flank to kill their opponents right before Baron Nashor spawned. That Baron buff, combined with even more kills on Draven, allowed Fnatic to snowball their lead into a rather patient victory.

Upset was given all the resources he needed (something fans were asking for months) and he continued with his lead, ending the game with nine kills, seven assists, and only one death. However, the Player of the Game award went to Wunder for his early game trickery, along with his plays in the later stages of the match. The veteran top laner finished with seven kills and six assists, quite high for the pressure he received in top lane.

Later this weekend, Fnatic will look to continue their dominant ways when they battle against Excel Esports and SK Gaming.

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