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Rebuilding Fnatic, Part 4: Facing the Future
Fnatic have passed their first tests, but if humility is their strength, will they survive success?
Fnatic looks dejected after their loss to UoL.
© Riot Esports
Almost two months into the 2015 season, Fnatic's new League of Legends team is tied for second place with a record of 10-4. They're just one game out of first behind SK Gaming. It's a far cry from the pre-season, when other managers and eSports personnel were telling Fnatic manager Oliver Steer that his roster acquisitions could cost him his job.
These early results vindicate the off-season decisions that Fnatic, Steer, and Bora "YellOwStaR" Kim made about the future of the team. But Steer also argued that it reflects something else: a younger, humbler team that will always listen to YellOwStaR, who has emerged as one of the best field-generals in EU LCS.
Coach Luis "Deilor" Sevilla Petit with team Fnatic
© Riot Esports
Meet the New Boss
According to Steer, YellOwStaR has been one of the best shot-callers in League of Legends. He has a superb grasp of both the big picture and the immediate tactical situation in front of him, and sees the connections between the two. But only now, with a new team around him, does he have the kind of authority and trust that lets him run his gameplans.
That's not necessarily a knock against the old lineup. YellOwStaR was one star on a team of all-stars. Enrique "xPeke" Cedeño Martínez is a legendary mid laner, and Paul "sOAZ" Boyer was considered one of the strongest top laners in Europe, if not worldwide. They had all accomplished great things together, but they were also authorities on how to play their own position. YellOwStaR could make calls, but there were times when his teammates felt free to overrule him. Steer isn't sure that confidence was always justified.
"When I moved into the gaming house [last year],I told everyone I wanted YellOwStaR to be the captain," Steer said. "But I got a negative reaction. 'We don't have a captain, we never did anything like this.' It was ego. And ego gets in your way," Steer said.
The new team, with much less experience under their belt, looks up to YellOwStaR as a trusted leader. He has seniority now, and it's made Fnatic a more selfless, disciplined team.
"Everyone comes here and it's open ears, open eyes. ...YellOwStaR says something? You have to do this. Everybody shuts up and does it straight away. There are no fights," Steer said.
Earning It
That teamwork and trust helped Fnatic set a tone for their season with their opening-day victory over the super-team of Elements (formerly Alliance). It was one of the most hotly-anticipated matches of the year, as Fnatic faced their former AD Carry, Martin "Rekkles" Larsson, whose frustrations with the old lineup caused home to leave the team and, ultimately, facilitated its break-up.
Fnatic's convincing victory was a completely unexpected result. The new team had almost no experience playing together before the season, and what time they did have was under terrible practice conditions. They shouldn't have had time to develop the kind of synergy that advantages experience rosters. It shouldn't have worked, Steer admitted, except for one thing.
"The one thing in common is these guys all know that Fnatic is big, if not the biggest team in Europe, and the all know who they've replaced. [Pierre "Steeelback" Medjaldi], when we picked him up, he said he couldn't sleep for two days. Because he was so stressed about the pressure on him after replacing Rekkles. And then the excitement that he could be here, and wearing a Fnatic jersey. Suddenly, all these dreams come true."
Medjaldi was so excited to be on the team, Steer said, that he barely wanted to talk about pay when Steer was negotiating with him.
"When I asked him his salary expectation, he said, 'I don't care about money. Let me join.' He's just here to win. He doesn't care about anything else. Twitter followers, interviews? Doesn't care. He just wants to prove that he's good enough to be here. Huni was the same. He said, 'I know I'm new. I just want to prove I'm worthy to be here.' All of them are like this. This is what they have in common."
Pierre "Steeelback" Medjaldi prepares to play
© Riot Esports
Keeping It Real
The question Steer sometimes asks himself is whether this can last. He knows Fnatic are a good team with potential to be even better with time. But he has seen how prolonged success and notoriety will change the team and the players.
"I'm not scared it will happen," Steer said. "I know it will happen. It's inevitable. But you have to control it. But you have to control it. ...With the old team, when I joined, it was almost the opposite. They were the bosses."
Now, Steer recruited most of these players. They look to YellOwStaR to lead them. There are systems in place to keep them disciplined.
"If I see some of them being a bit cocky or big-headed, then I'll be there to fix the problem before it goes too far away. That's one thing. The second thing is the players' contracts they have. The previous players had no penalties. But these players do. If they're late for meetings, they can be charged 100 Euros every time they're late."
But ultimately, Fnatic still have a long way to go before they've truly proven themselves. They've blown-away preseason expectations, but how will they react to the pressure of a playoff match? Do they have what it takes to win multiple titles the way the old Fnatic roster did?
Steer thinks they do, but that's a test that the new Fnatic can only pass by proving themselves week-in, week-out, for months and perhaps years to come.
Fnatic pulled-off a miracle in rebuilding their gutted roster before the 2015 season. Now, the organization must wait and see whether they've done enough to continue a League of Legends dynasty.
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