Fnatic named EMEA Champions after phenomenal sweep against FunPlus Phoenix

Fnatic, a team that has long been in search of earning a VCT tournament title to themselves had finally managed to done so for the first time in over two years. After a fascinating Group Stage run, EMEA fans assumed that they had used up all their luck it couldn’t get any better — but it did.

They went on an unparalleled Upper Bracket run defeating Guild Esports and FunPlus Phoenix with little resistance. Having qualified for VCT 2022 - Stage 2 - Masters Copenhagen, they looked to become EMEA’s #1 seed by defeating FPX in the Grand Finals of VCT 2022 - EMEA - Stage 2 - Challengers - Main Event. FPX, in turn, were looking to seek vengeance for the loss in Upper Bracket Semi Finals.

VCT 2022 - EMEA - Stage 2 - Challengers - Main Event

Fnatic

3

X

0

FunPlus Phoenix

Grand Final, Best of 5 - June 26, 2022 - 2:00PM

15

Split

13

13

Icebox

5

15

Haven

13

Fnatic

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Alfajer

1.54

306

79/53/18

+26

1.49

77.8%

199.1

26%

68%

15

7

Boaster

1.03

193

49/43/24

+6

1.14

76.5%

115.4

22%

78%

7

2

Enzo

0.99

180

46/39/31

+7

1.18

82.0%

127.0

26%

33%

1

2

Derke

0.99

216

54/51/12

+3

1.06

76.1%

136.2

26%

47%

15

17

Mistic

0.72

155

39/50/18

-11

0.78

63.2%

109.9

19%

38%

3

5

FunPlus Phoenix

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

ardiis

1.22

254

63/50/19

+13

1.26

73.5%

159.0

27%

67%

10

5

SUYGETSU

1.03

215

57/52/9

+5

1.10

66.3%

144.8

26%

60%

6

4

Shao

0.84

169

49/49/15

0

1.00

70.4%

120.9

23%

40%

6

9

Zyppan

0.72

156

40/56/20

-16

0.71

65.6%

116.5

33%

29%

5

12

ANGE1

0.46

117

27/61/13

-34

0.44

60.3%

82.8

23%

35%

6

11

Split

With FPX having the first pick, it was no surprise that Split was the first to host both teams. Despite starting on Defense, Fnatic were slow to take control of the exchange which made it easy for FPX to sneak four back-to-back rounds past them. Fnatic decided to prevent more damage being inflicted and responded with almost seven consecutive rounds following a 3K from the prodigy Emir "Alfajer" Ali Beder.

Even though FPX had the perfect opportunity to mirror Fnatic’s success on Defense and close out an early map, Fnatic’s offense kept disrupting their momentum making it impossible to string a run together. By round 23, the matchup’s atmosphere had intensified as Fnatic stood at 12 points while FPX was at 11. That’s where Andrey "Shao" Kiprsky’s OP came in clutch as he took out Alfajer and Enzo allowing his teammates to deal with the remaining players and force overtime.

The first OT came to no conclusion as both teams were able to secure wins on defense, and a similar narrative would’ve continued in the second period of overtime had it not been for Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev spectacular 3K in the clip above.

Icebox

Proceedings then shifted onto Icebox, where Fnatic have proven to be lethal on several occasions and this time was no different. FPX started the map with a quick pistol round desperately hoping to initiate a streak to give them an early advantage.

Unfortunately, their defense couldn’t withstand the Fnatic’s aggression, coupled with Emir "Alfajer" Ali Beder surreal aiming skills. He led the team to a 10-2 start on Icebox with 2.35 Rating, 437 ACS and 2.71 KD.

Going into the second half, Fnatic started strong with a couple of rounds looking to close out the map without further delay. FPX’s loss on the map seemed inevitable, but they tried one last attempt at a comeback initiated by Dmitry "SUYGETSU" Ilyushin’s 3K. Three rounds fell to their name before Fnatic rendered the attempt futile and gained 2-0 lead in the series.

Haven

Haven was FPX’s last chance to envision themselves as the potential #1 seed for EMEA going into VCT 2022 - Stage 2 - Masters Copenhagen. To their dismay, however, Fnatic’s Offense once again made it difficult for them to get a good start to the map.

After losing the first couple of rounds, FPX struck back and briefly took the lead. Hoping to continue their momentum in subsequent rounds, FPX came out guns blazing in the 6th round only to fall victims to Alfajer and Boaster’s wrath.

While losing a single round isn’t detrimental in the big picture, the real damage from encountering defeat was the momentum shift which Fnatic exploited to finish the half with a four-point lead. Fnatic stood only five-rounds from being crowned EMEA Champions, a realization that struck FPX’s core and resulted in an aggressive outburst propelling them to a 12-10 score by round 22. They only need one round to close out their first map and prolong the Series to a game 4.

Fnatic’s roster banded together and held FPX with all their might to force Overtime and eventually close out the map with a 15-13 score. Emir "Alfajer" Ali Beder was named the series MVP with 1.54 Rating, 306 ACS on 1.49 KD. The EMEA Champions have proven themselves to be one of the best teams in the World, and will be a major threat in the upcoming event.