With the Fnatic roster having been at every single Pro League Finals or Major since the Six Invitational 2018 (when they were under Mindfreak), it is safe to say that they're the de-facto faces of the APAC region. After a Season 9 that saw them beat Cyclops Athlete Gaming but almost get knocked out by Aerowolf at the APAC Finals, they repeated their Sydney victory against NORA-Rengo in Milan before Team Empire took three maps to beat them.
Returning back to Australia for their Season 10 APAC title defence, they were undoubtedly confident. A confident victory over Zealous kickstarted their season, and they soon made it two series wins the next week. However, they would finally meet resistance in the form of Oddity Esports in the third week -- one of two other teams that would be part of the APAC Finals fight -- when they would draw the first map, though they would smash Oddity 7-0 on the second.
It was clear, though, that Fnatic were saving strategies for the Six Major Raleigh, with team captain Etienne “Magnet” Rousseau even saying so on Twitter, and this was further reinforced when FURY got their first win of the season when they beat Fnatic 7-5 just before the Major. Raleigh, however, would see Fnatic’s worst-ever performance at a Major, as they lost 0-2 by embarrassing margins to DarkZero, and only managed one close map in their 0-2 loss against FaZe Clan to return home without even a single map win to their name.
Coming back home, a win on each map against Mindfreak got them back on track -- though they had now swapped in their sixth player, Ryan “Speca” Ausden, in place their regular mainline player, Matthew “Acez” McHenry. However, a double-draw against eventual second-seeds Wildcard Gaming would add to the uncertainty as to their qualification, but with fate still firmly in their own hands, Fnatic would take down Team SiNister to qualify to the Season 10 APAC Finals as the first seeds.
The Season 10 APAC Finals Bracket
Now, placed in the so-dubbed “Upper Bracket of Death”, and facing familiar foes Aerowolf for a record-fifth time, Fnatic will face possibly the toughest fight to qualify to the Pro League Finals that they ever have. To know more about their Season 10 campaign and their approach to these APAC Finals, SiegeGG spoke to their longtime coach, Jayden “Dizzle” Saunders:
This was a very tense season in ANZ, with your qualification not mathematically guaranteed until the final day. Were there ever any doubts?
Your team drew both games against Wildcard Gaming this season -- is that a bit of a misstep on your side, or have they got to a point where they're virtually your equals?
You open the tournament with an incredible fifth matchup against Aerowolf. Any particular about this? Positives, negatives, reasons for confidence, reasons for fear?
How do you fancy your chances at the APAC Finals? Your side of the bracket is incredibly difficult, featuring Cloud9, Fnatic, and Aerowolf.
Your team was playing with Speca in the latter part of the season. What was the motivation behind this, and who will we see at the APAC Finals? Or as Twitch chat wants to know; where is Acez?
Raleigh was a particularly disappointing event for your team. What went wrong, and how have you been working to remedy your failings there?
Consistency is what separates good teams from great ones, so how does your team chase that?
Do you have anything to say to your fans at home and internationally?
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Catch Fnatic in action this weekend, as the Season 10 APAC Finals run from the 19th to 20th of October, with games starting at 10 AM AEDT (GMT+11) each day. With a fifth matchup against fellow APAC veterans Aerowolf coming up, it is likely that they will face stiff resistance in their very first game. However, if they are successful, they are likely to also win against NORA-Rengo or Cloud9, and continue onwards to the Pro League Finals in Tokoname, Japan -- though it remains to be seen if Speca will be the spark that they need.