Both Schalke 04 and Fnatic have earned their spot in the grand final of the EU LCS Summer playoffs. Both sides have come a long way, especially Schalke 04. This team in 2017 was heavily invested by the owner to qualify for the World Cup of League of Legends in 2018, The Worlds.
Fnatic, on the other hand, don’t have so much to fight for except for their reputation since both the teams have secured their ticket to the World Cup. Meanwhile, this is the last occasion for Schalke 04. The outcome of this match will completely change the picture for the other teams in the EU LCS for a spot at Worlds.
The reason to why we picked this match is because it is the grand finale of one of the biggest tournaments of League of Legends. So, it will be an exciting practice to predict the winner of this big final after comprehensively going through a head-to-head player analysis of both teams. Let’s get started.
The Top Lane
Bwipo and sOAZ are the two top-rated players of Fnatic that have incredibly adjusted to the Meta. However, only one can play at a time. So, let’s see what each of them has to offer.
If we see Fnatic’s sOAZ vs Schalke’s Vizicsacsi then it will be an exciting battle. Since both players are not so much aggressive but have impressive ways to secure the farm in the lane. This makes up for an exciting late game. Both of these players are highly experienced and will not be giving kills easy. That will make up for a high-quality 1v1 encounter.
However, if Bwipo plays in the top and sOAZ sits on the bench things might change. Unlike sOAZ, Bwipo plays in a highly aggressive manner and doesn’t mind to get killed off in the starting minutes of the game. This will make way for Schalke’s Vizicsacsi and jungler Amazing to capitalize. It will be better if Bwipo sits on the bench and sOAZ plays top. It will be likely the case since Fnatic have played sOAZ top in almost every game of the playoffs this season.
Jungle and Mid
In the mid lane, we will likely see Nukeduck playing for Schalke 04. He has played over 17 champions throughout the league. So, his vast champions pool might cause some problems for Fnatic.
Meanwhile, Broxah of Fnatic and Amazing of Schalke 04 will be playing passive roles in the grand finale. Both of them will be playing the carry role while securing the vision of the map and making space for their teammates. Amazing will be making room for the bot lane through constant rotations in the mid and top lane. However, Broxah plays differently and focuses on mid and bot lane. He has proven to be a vital support for the Fnatic’s mid laner, Caps on so many occasions. This gets Caps farmed and mid and jungle makes way for the Fnatic bot lane to dominate the lane.
Top lane might get tightly contested, but to our understanding, the mid lane will be secured by Fnatic. Since Caps is more experienced and is overall a better player than Nukeduck. Schalke’s Nukeduke only has the surprise of a big hero pool, which mostly includes picking passive champions. Meanwhile, Caps have a habit of playing the hard carry role in the mid lane and has beaten Nukeduck on countless occasions. This vital mid matchup should be victorious for Fnatic.
The Bot Lane
The Bot Lane carry of Schalke 04, Upset has been the star of the team since his singing. He has been an exceptional player so far for the team and now has a chance to prove himself on the big stage.
This bot lane matchup will show who will come out on top after the end of the grand finale. The supports, Hylissang of Fnatic and Vander of Schalke 04 will be on their toes to provide the best assistance of the season in the bot lane. While Fnatic’s Legendary bottom lane carry, Rekkles will have the job of securing farm and snowball as soon as possible. Both Upset and Rekkles will not be seen in the team fights in the early stages of the game and will be looking to gather as much gold as possible in the lane. Both are highly skilled and have shown exceptional plays in the past two weeks. Rekkles will be seen picking champions that deal high physical damage and Upset will pick champions that have the potential to deal high magic damage. It is hard to pick out a clear winner here but Rekkles knows better to play under pressure. He is a lot more experienced than his highly talented opponent. Moreover, Broxah will surely prevail in team fights to help Rekkles and Fnatic to victory.
Final Verdict
Fnatic wins 3-2
A lot of people say that Schalke have a very predictable playing and thus Fnatic will be looking for an easy win. But this will not be the case since, over the past few weeks, they have exhibited that they can adapt to a variety of playing styles during the game. With that being said Fnatic has far more experience to counter teams like Schalke 04. So ultimately Fnatic have the upper hand.
In Spring playoffs earlier this year, Fnatic showed they were the dominant force of EU and will surely be not a surprise if they win the Summer season. The surprises of Schalke 04 will not amaze Fnatic and will only drive the team to victory. This is a great opportunity for Fnatic to lock their spot for Worlds and show their dominance in the region. Lastly, Fnatic has beaten Schalke 04 on both occasions in the Summer season.
Odds on bookmakers
| Bookmakers | Fnatic Odds | Schalke 04 Odds |
| EGB.com | 1.242 | 3.250 |
| Betway | 1.35 | 2.95 |
| Loot.bet | 1.33 | 3.25 |
| GG.bet | 1.25 | 3.25 |
| Bet365 | 1.36 | 3.00 |
Shehryar is a professional eSports analyst with a particular affinity for CS:GO, LoL, and DOTA. He covers major eSports events across the world for WagerBop.
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