LoL - Worlds: MKOI-FNC, sixth meeting of the year

The first elimination best-of-three series of these Worlds will be played on Sunday, featuring Movistar KOI vs Fnatic and Vivo Keyd Stars vs PSG Talon. The duel between the two European teams will kick off at 10 AM CET and marks their sixth encounter of the year — the previous five took place in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), with the Spanish organization winning four of them.

Both teams have had a rough time at Worlds. Movistar KOI started with a strong game against KT Rolster, where they held a lead but ultimately fell short. They then had to play a civil war against G2 Esports, which they also lost. As for Fnatic, they opened their tournament with a defeat to CTBC Flying Oyster before facing Bilibili Gaming, who handed them another loss.

Over the course of the year, MKOI have clearly been the stronger team. During the Winter Split, they won the regular-season best-of-one before falling to Fnatic 3-1 in the Lower Bracket Semifinal — Fnatic’s only victory over them this year. In Spring, the two teams only met during the regular season, before facing each other twice again in the Summer playoffs: first in the Worlds Qualifying Series, which KOI won 3-2, and then in the Lower Bracket Final in Madrid, which they also took 3-1.

Despite both being a part of the LEC's top four teams throughout the whole season, the spring split champions side holds a clear advantage in their head-to-head record this year. Not to mention they are currently experiencing their second international tournament of the year, which could help while playing in a different environment.

Both teams enter these Worlds clearly with different strengths and weaknesses. For Fnatic, and this has been true for nearly the entire year, salvation has often come through their botlane. Elias "Upset" Lipp and Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle are by far the most in-form players on Europe’s third seed roster. The team experienced a strong run, particularly after Yoon "Poby" Sung-won joined the midlane during the Summer Split, but the fact remains that the botlane has been Fnatic’s biggest strength this year, especially during periods when the rest of the team was underperforming.

For Movistar KOI, it’s quite the opposite. David "Supa" Martínez García and Álvaro "Alvaro" Fernández del Amo have not had an easy end to the year, and the Spaniards have largely relied on their mid-jungle duo to win the Spring Split and reach the Summer Grand Final. Javier "Elyoya" Prades Batalla remains the team’s metronome, often dictating the plays, but the star player is Joseph Joon "Jojopyun" Pyun. The Canadian midlaner has become indispensable to the Spanish team; although he struggled a bit early in the year, his last two splits have been solid.

Tomorrow’s matchup is therefore likely to be a long-range clash between the respective strengths of the two teams. Supa remains a threat, but the Spanish team’s game will likely revolve around the midlane, while Fnatic, as usual, will play around their botlane. Upset and Mikyx often own the pace and momentum for Fnatic with the help of Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz and will be key to securing the win.