LoL: Worlds 2020 | Top Esports vs Fnatic Knockout Preview
| Tags: League of Legends
| Author David Hollingsworth
Fnatic and Top are set to go head to head for the first Quarterfinal match of Worlds 2020.
While G2 could be considered the luckier of the two LEC sides, with Fnatic facing the full might of the LPL on their quest to make it back to the Grand Finals. Obviously, to win the title Fnatic need to win against the best teams, so they’ll need to do that from the very first game as they face off against Top Esports. TES, however, will probably be pretty happy to face off against Fnatic, who has had a mixed 2020.
For TES, who are favorites to win Worlds 2020, Fnatic presents a winnable, if not slightly concerning draw. With only China, Korea, and Europe in the Knockout Stage, it wasn’t going to be easy for any team, especially without any major shocks in the Group Stage.TES went 5-1 in their group, with just a shock loss to FlyQuest preventing the perfect record. The loss to FlyQuest, however, will give Fnatic and their fans hope that TES is not unbeatable, so for their sake let’s hope they analyzed that loss with great detail.
On the Fnatic side, they showed some great gameplay in Groups, though the FNC of old, both good and bad did show through in games. Victory against Gen.G in week one was a major moment for Fnatic, however, they were unable to beat Gen.G in either of their second round of matches. TES does offer up a different challenge, though Fnatic has proven at Worlds 2020 that they are capable of overturning the big sides on their day.
Prediction
Despite my penchant for LEC sides, I think Fnatic face a much harder challenge than G2 will face in the lower bracket. What is going for Fnatic is that this is the first best-of-five either side will play at Worlds, so maybe, just maybe, Fnatic can spring an upset and take down the LPL Champions. TES is very likely to take the series against Fnatic with relative ease, and despite my wishing otherwise, it’s so hard to see past it. Can Fnatic beat TES? Yes. Will they manage it? Sadly, it just seems too unlikely. Fnatic will probably pick up a game, though I think the mid lane gap is going to be a major issue for the LEC side with Knight likely becoming unplayable against.
Prediction: 3-1 TES
MVP: Knight
David has written for games media outlets for the last ten years. With his first major esports role being with Esports News UK covering mostly UK League of Legends. David is also a member of the British Esports Association and is an advisor to them on World of Warcraft Esports. More recently David has worked for Esports Insider and Red Bull as an esports journalist.
David later became Editor at ESTNN and now leads the current team.