Despite a promising start to the season, Fnatic’s journey in the
2026 League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Versus playoffs came to an early end. Two consecutive losses to NAVI and Team Vitality have left the boys in black and orange looking toward the spring split, hoping to bounce back from a challenging few weeks. Amid this period of mixed results and fan frustration,
Sheep Esports sat down with the team’s Esports Operations Manager,
Anisah “Geomancy” Munim, for an exclusive interview on mental health, what changes the organization needs, and the state of the team’s fanbase.
How has the team’s mood been recently, especially after the upper bracket loss? How are the players doing?
Anisah “Geomancy” Munim: “To be completely honest, we haven't had the best results this season, but the mood within the team is generally quite good. Compared to last year, having Vladi (Vladimiros Kourtidis) on the roster really helps because he's very much like the class clown—he's always making jokes. It also helps players like Razork (Iván Martín Díaz), who feel the need to fill silences with humor, because then the whole team is joking around.
Even today, we were joking about random things in the office. Someone had been clogging the toilet, and we were all trying to figure out who it was while laughing together. The mood comes from all the players; it's not just Vladi or Razork. Everyone contributes to the jokes and talks to each other. There's a strong sense of cohesion outside the game, and I would say they all like each other quite a lot.
Can you explain your role in the team for readers who may not know you?
Geomancy: My official title is Esports Operations Manager, and I am attached to the LEC team. We also have our VCT team in Berlin that I help occasionally, but my main focus is the LEC team. I attend their games and handle operations from A to Z—for example, Studio Days, scheduling, and making sure everything runs smoothly.
It’s kind of like being a team mom, making sure everyone is okay and well-fed. I also help with personal matters as much as possible. My ethos as a manager is to let the players and coaches focus entirely on the game. So if they need help with things like their washing machine or navigating German bureaucracy, I take that on for them. They already have enough to think about, so I try to take as much personal-life stress off their shoulders as possible.
Geomancy: I’m very involved in this. At Fnatic, we care a lot about our players’ wellbeing. We have staff who are mental health first agents. I know this is already a requirement from Riot, but we genuinely want to support our players’ mental health. We’ve had instances where players received extremely negative, even worrying, responses on social media. In those cases, we step in to show our players that we care and acknowledge the challenges they face.
The process works like this: if a player receives death threats or anything that worries them, they come to me, and I escalate it to our safeguarding officer. He then contacts the appropriate authorities, whether it’s online law enforcement or the relevant authorities in the player’s country.
This is something I strongly believe in, and the organization does as well. We really care about our players’ mental health. It’s a difficult issue because the internet can be a hostile place, but taking these steps helps protect our players and ensures they feel safe. My goal is to take as much real-life stress off them as possible so they can focus on the game.
Some fans and critics have raised concerns about Fnatic’s hierarchy and culture. Humanoid recently shared that he personally struggled mentally last year. How do you respond to this, and why might the organization’s culture not have worked well for some players?
Geomancy: I completely acknowledge what Humanoid said, and that is his personal experience. At Fnatic, we try our hardest to support our players within our scope. That said, there is a lot of stress in being at Fnatic. It’s a prestigious organization, and people feel the pressure to perform. We are also one of the most long-standing organizations with a huge fan base, so there are many pressures from the outside. I do see how this weighs on the players. I also worry about our rookies, because joining Fnatic is probably a big deal for them, even though they themselves have said it’s an exciting opportunity.
So, there are two sides to see it. Joining Fnatic brings huge stress, and we try to set our players up for success and give them as much support as possible. But ultimately, there are personal pressures, expectations, and inner struggles that every player has to manage, alongside the stresses of being at such a long-standing organization.
Geomancy: In my opinion, our fans aren’t completely negative. One of the things I love about this role is that I get to interact with them and talk to them directly. I’ve met so many great people who have even helped me personally. I think the negativity is really just a vocal minority. The rest of the fans are genuinely supportive, both in real life and on Discord—I interact with them as much as I can in the Fnatic Dragons and Fnatic Statics Discords, just day-to-day whenever I have free time at work.
A lot of our fans continue to support us even when results aren’t ideal. The negativity tends to get amplified by the wider esports community, not just our fans. And to some extent, some fans are within their rights to be upset—it’s a sport, and they want results. As long as it doesn’t impact the players personally, it’s understandable.
One of the best things about this job is seeing fans interact with the players and make their day. I also try to give out small things to fans because they appreciate it, and we wouldn’t be who we are without them. Overall, I think our fans are amazing. Most of the fans I’ve spoken to also condemn the negativity from others. In my opinion, the majority are positive—it really is just a vocal minority that stands out.
From a managerial perspective, within the constraints of budgets and resources, what do you think Fnatic should focus on improving in the coming months to help the organization regain its former glory?
Geomancy: I somewhat agree with GrabbZ (Fabian Lohmann). It would be great if he had more help and support from the backroom staff. I’d be a little concerned about his burnout and everything that comes with it. In an ideal world, without budget constraints, we would have as much backroom support as possible. It makes sense for League of Legends because it’s such an intensive game, and you need a lot of people handling different areas, like patch notes or information from other regions. More support behind the scenes would definitely be beneficial.”
