Season Finals: FNC vs MDK Preview

This evening, we'll have our first finalist after the LEC Season Finals Winners' Final, featuring two of Europe's top teams this year: Fnatic and Mad Lions KOI. Notably, G2's absence casts a shadow over the match, marking the first time this year they aren't in the Winners' Final.

Due to G2's reverse sweep against Team BDS in the last round of the LEC Season Finals, MAD Lions KOI and Fnatic won't be playing with a World Championship qualification spot on the line. However, this pressure-free BO5 is a golden opportunity for one of these teams to make a statement and build confidence ahead of the final and their World Championship appearance.

Both teams secured convincing victories in the first round, leaving no doubt about their presence today. However, the Season Finals demand teams to consistently elevate their performance throughout the tournament. With Fnatic and MAD Lions KOI having last played two weeks ago, a harsh defeat today—followed by a showdown with a resurgent G2 in the Losers' Final—could halt their momentum entirely. On the other hand, a win would mean heading to Munich with full confidence and belief in their abilities.

Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz and Javier "Elyoya" Prades Batalla, the two teams' junglers, have been the ones on the frontline during the first round of the Season Finals. They however have lived a very different end of year. Razork has had a very strong year from January to today, while Elyoya has seen a true revival of his gameplay against G2 after a spell in the wilderness this Summer.

Both players share a similar champion pool. The Vi priority was set very high for Fnatic and MDK during their first match, the pick has remained on the top of bans for the whole Season Finals so far, it is thus very likely that the redside team will have to remove it, since most answers that were thought to be good into Vi (Morgana for instance) have proven to be insufficient.

This is where Elyoya is more uncertain than Razork. The MDK jungler has played many champions this season and has taken a firm grasp over the AP Carry meta, with a strong Zyra and Taliyah. The main question will be around the two tank picks of Maokai and Sejuani, which Razork can undoubtedly play. MDK has so far relied on a two set-up champions structure with Álvaro "Alvaro" Fernández del Amo (almost) always taking the job and Bartłomiej "Fresskowy" Przewoźnik sharing the duty with his jungler. Against G2, it was three set-up games for Elyoya and two for Fresskowy.

Razork's Nidalee is another major threat for MAD Lions KOI. Although not picked in 100% of Fnatic's games—having been left open twice against BDS without being selected—she remains a danger that MAD Lions KOI will need to address. This could either be through a ban, which might be challenging if they’re on the red side and need to ban Vi, or by dealing with her directly on the Rift.

Razork and Elyoya were the leaders of their team in their last BO5. The jungle matchup will thus be pivotal to the shape of the games today, especially as both junglers share a similar playstyle and early pathing habits.

The adc matchup is also one where the two players resemble one another in some way between MDK and FNC. Oh "Noah" Hyeon-taek and David "Supa" Martínez García have faced criticism for being more often the reason their team lost rather than the reason they won.

Supa is an integral part of MDK's strange habit of usually getting catched at the worse time possible (a Movistar Riders heritage), something that has caused many losses, but something that should not be put on the sole shoulders of MDK's ADC since the mistake is clearly a macro one that MDK has struggled to fix this year. These macro mistakes, commonly found when MDK fail to find efficient decision making in their lane assignment and objective setup, will be an open ground for FNC to take an advantage.

What Supa and Noah share however is their errances in group fights, both skirmishes and teamfights, but with two different styles. Noah is often criticized for lacking impact and taking too few initiatives, though outright mistakes are less common for him. On the other hand, Supa has a tendency to push the limits too far. While the Spanish ADC can't be accused of playing just for a good KDA, he does tend to die frequently.

In the first BO5 of the Season Finals, while Noah mostly followed Fnatic's efficient game plan, Supa rose to the occasion, finding several good fights and impactful moments. However, he still showed some fragility, and MAD Lions KOI's tendency to put him in difficult lanes hasn’t helped his resurgence, which hasn’t been as impressive as Elyoya's. Despite this, a stronger version of Supa seems to be emerging. The ADC matchup is close on paper, but it could quickly tip in one team’s favor if either player has a breakthrough performance.