YellOwStaR breaks down TSM bout
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When they stepped onto the stage for the first game of the Mid-Season Invitational, Team SoloMid had no idea what was waiting for them.
Fnatic, a decided underdog at MSI, had a serious trick up their sleeve. After six top lane champions were expelled from the game during the Ban Phase, including Huni's beloved Hecarim, many were left wondering just how deep these top laners' champ pools ran.
And then, Fnatic locked in Cassiopeia.
"We always look at the list of champions. There are like 130 champions. There's a lot of choices," he laughs. "Basically, he's really good at carry champions instead of tanks because he can have way more impact. That's how we found Cassiopeia. He was already trying her out, too. Huni is better on tanky damage champions than AP [champions] because they are so squishy. But he did well, so I'm very happy."
And with a strong skirmishing team around him -- Gragas in the jungle, LeBlanc in the mid lane, Nautilus and Urgot holding down the bottom lane -- Huni took a favorable matchup against Dyrus directly to TSM's Nexus.
And with Huni on a carry, YellOwStaR wasn't worried that they might lose their first game at MSI. "Looking at the team composition, we already knew that, whether we go late game or mid game, we'll have the upper hand," he says "We just had to not mess up our early game, and had a good advantage in the top lane. We don't want to say that [we were] confident, but we were.
"Going into the draft, we were really well-prepared. It really went the way we wanted it to. We expected this result in champ select."
With their brawling play style and ability to play just about anything, Fnatic believes they can go the distance at MSI. "I think we can make it to the Finals," says YellOwStaR.
For more Mid-Season Invitational action, keep your eyes on Lolesports all weekend. And if you miss any of Fnatic's crazy picks and bans, head over to the spoiler-free VODs page.
[Ed. note] The article originally read that YellOwStaR was on Thresh, when he was on Nautilus. This has been fixed.
Snakes in a lane
The rest of the world may have been shocked by the pick, but Bora "YellOwStaR" Kim says Fnatic knew exactly what they were doing. "Fnatic has always been off-meta in the top lane," he says. "Before, it was sOAZ, and now, Huni. It's just their play styles. They really want to carry as a top laner." And at MSI, when going up against Dyrus' Gnar, it was the perfect opportunity to do so. Interestingly enough, Huni's Cassiopeia wasn't exactly conceived as a counterpick to Dyrus. In fact, according to YellOwStaR, Fnatic finds their groundbreaking champion picks in what seems like an inefficient manner: by simply picking them off a list.
"We always look at the list of champions. There are like 130 champions. There's a lot of choices," he laughs. "Basically, he's really good at carry champions instead of tanks because he can have way more impact. That's how we found Cassiopeia. He was already trying her out, too. Huni is better on tanky damage champions than AP [champions] because they are so squishy. But he did well, so I'm very happy."
And with a strong skirmishing team around him -- Gragas in the jungle, LeBlanc in the mid lane, Nautilus and Urgot holding down the bottom lane -- Huni took a favorable matchup against Dyrus directly to TSM's Nexus.
You gotta have faith
YellOwStaR and Fnatic had to have a ton of faith in their top laner to pull off such a risky strategy. But Huni gained his support's respect as soon as they met. "He decides everything by himself, because he's really smart about the game," says YellOwStar. "I was actually really impressed the first time I met him, because he has a really good vision and knowledge about the game. I let him choose what he wants to do," he said, laughing.
And with Huni on a carry, YellOwStaR wasn't worried that they might lose their first game at MSI. "Looking at the team composition, we already knew that, whether we go late game or mid game, we'll have the upper hand," he says "We just had to not mess up our early game, and had a good advantage in the top lane. We don't want to say that [we were] confident, but we were.
"Going into the draft, we were really well-prepared. It really went the way we wanted it to. We expected this result in champ select."
Aiming for the Finals
YellOwStaR credits a large part of their victory to TSM not respecting the fact that they can bring anything out at any time. That came from TSM's lack of desire to play practice games against them. "I think TSM didn't really want to scrim against us because people were saying that we're the underdogs. It's true that we didn't really have the best games against Unicorns of Love because both of the teams really like fighting. It was a mess." Now that Fnatic has taken down the North American heroes of TSM, the rest of the world is definitely taking notice. They may have underestimated the Europeans at first, but don't expect anyone else to sleep on them.
With their brawling play style and ability to play just about anything, Fnatic believes they can go the distance at MSI. "I think we can make it to the Finals," says YellOwStaR.
For more Mid-Season Invitational action, keep your eyes on Lolesports all weekend. And if you miss any of Fnatic's crazy picks and bans, head over to the spoiler-free VODs page.
[Ed. note] The article originally read that YellOwStaR was on Thresh, when he was on Nautilus. This has been fixed.
at the best region and get striked down
immediately.
Agreed
