Asia-Pacific’s most successful team is back after a Pro League Finals out, now with two new players and as the bottom seeded team in the region. As they now approach the team’s fourth Invitational in a row they’ll need to greatly improve on their last appearance at the Raleigh Major if they want to finally push past the joint-fifth finish they’ve achieved in their last three visits to Montreal.
The Fnatic roster one year ago. (Photo: DXRacer Japan)
Fnatic first caught the attention of the world at the 2018 Six Invitational where they defeated the soon-to-be Pro League champions of Team Liquid and the roster later known as Team Empire (then ROOM FACTORY) to become the very first APAC team to ever beat an international opponent. Later that year saw them push further as, even with Dizzle substituting in for Magnet, they followed NORA-Rengo into the semi-finals of the Season 8 Pro League Finals by upsetting Evil Geniuses 2-0 in what was a peak for the APAC region. Since then, both NORA-Rengo and Fnatic have met at both the 2019 Six Invitational, where the Japanese team came out on top, and at the Season 9 Finals where Fnatic won, only to fall in straight maps to Empire afterwards.
Most recently, Fnatic played at the Raleigh Major and lost to both DarkZero and FaZe Clan -- two of their group stage opponents at the 2020 Invitational -- before then falling to Giants Gaming at the Season 10 APAC Finals, thus failing to make it to the Season 10 Finals in Japan in a new low for the team. In response to this, the two new players of Patrick "MentalistC" Fan and Tex "Tex" Thompson were signed, and the team went on to win the qualifiers to make it to this event and has seemingly been reinvigorated for 2020.
We spoke to the team’s coach, Jayden "Dizzle" Saunders about what these changes mean for them and what we can expect from them at the Invitational:
Your team missed out on the Pro League Finals for the first time since the Season 6 Finals, and underwent a large shakeup as a result. How have the changes been coming along?
Your team struggled somewhat against Xavier Esports and the Finka. What is it about that was difficult to fight against?
Group A is not an easy group, with all three opponents (DarkZero, Empire, and FaZe) arguably stronger than your team. How do you fancy your chances to make it to the playoffs the third Invitational in a row?
APAC gained another sizable organisation with the addition of Giants Gaming. How important do you think this support is for the region as a whole?
Much has been said about the seeding process for the groups. Does your team have any gripes with it?
How do you think that the double-elimination playoffs will change the dynamic of the event, and what is your opinion of the one-map advantage in the grand final?
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Fnatic opens the Six Invitational in Group A with a game against Team Empire first, with matches against either FaZe Clan or DarkZero Esports scheduled afterwards. Check back here at SiegeGG for more Invitational Insights and full coverage of the event as it comes.