FNC GrabbZ on Poby: “It was clear that 2 years ago, he wasn’t great… there was a clear sign of him improving a lot… the eye-test confirmed this”

Nothing’s ever straightforward at Fnatic. Despite a strong roster for 2025, back-to-back playoffs slipups have seen them still far from a long-awaited LEC title. After a chaotic off season saw them replace Humanoid with Poby for LEC Summer 2025, two opening wins seem to indicate that things are moving in the right direction. After Fnatic ended week 1 unbeaten, Hotspawn was able to speak with their head coach Fabian “GrabbZ” Lohmann for an interview.

First of all, how do you rate your 2-0 week?

GrabbZ: They were two must-wins kinda. I think Heretics was really rough, [we] didn’t play our best. Today, [I] don’t want to be disrespectful, but also SK was a bit AFK, so we were shadow boxing. And I think, especially game 1, I’m happy with.

Game 2 I think we did a lot of mistakes that a good LEC team will punish, so I’m not too happy. Obviously, you’re always happy if you win the game, so now we have a bit of breathing room, especially if we beat BDS next week. But our expectation should be higher, and the bar I’ve set for ourselves should be higher.

You’ve played two games this weekend while others haven’t played at all, and that will mean you don’t play at all in the final week.

What are your thoughts on the LEC schedule?

GrabbZ: I think the entire format, I’m not a big fan of. I think we should have done the Asian way, where you have the top five teams in one group and then the bottom five teams in one group, and then we play against good competition more often.

This way, it just fits really weird. Regular season’s over after four games — just a very odd feeling. With the group draw as well, you’re expected to win a lot more games. I don’t like the format. It is what it is.

During the off-season, there was speculation around who exactly was making decisions for Fnatic between the coaching staff, cArn (Chief Gaming Officer), and Dardo (Team Director).

Could you help clarify how the off-season process looked?

GrabbZ: Basically, the coaching staff said: “We want to make changes, we need to make changes top side, just give us the options that we have”. Management gave options that they felt [were] feasible and doable with the budget as well. And then we looked at these options, eyetest-wise, but also on the data side, and then approached players that were interesting for interview rounds.

The whole data and management side was Dardo and cArn. And then, of course, the eye test side was especially Gaax’s — who did a lot of work there, so kudos to him — Duff and me. And then the interviews were together.

Ultimately, again, we pushed for changes, but management said: “This is the budget we have — depending on who we bench, we have that much more budget left.” And then if a player doesn’t fit there, we can’t make a change. And so that was basically the offseason.

There was a fair bit of backlash to Poby’s signing, with most remembering him for his time subbing in for the injured Faker on T1 in 2023.

What did you make of that discourse?

GrabbZ: It was to be expected, and that’s just how the business goes. We can’t expect fans to actually realize what a player does or how a player can improve in certain years.

On the data side, for example, it was also clear that two years ago, he wasn’t great. We’re not going to sugarcoat this. There’s a reason why he didn’t play that well when he played. But also, there was a clear sign of him improving a lot. And that’s really the eyetest that confirmed this.

We like the way he looks [for] information. He was also very vocal in-game, something that’s really important to us. So, for our side, we were just open-minded. And then he plays good enough to help us reach our goals in a way.

And, again, fans are entitled to their opinion. It was clear that there was going to be a bit of backlash, but then it’s on him and us to prove them wrong, right? I don’t personally mind that fans have a strong opinion.

For a number of years, there’s been debate about whether Razork and Humanoid can play together, and during your appearance on the Al Lío Podcast, you said that they were incompatible in-game despite getting on well on a personal level.

While, of course, much of it was before your tenure, why do you think it’s taken so long for there to finally be a change with that mid/jungle duo?

Grabbz: There was also staff turnover in Fnatic at the time, right? I’m pretty sure Nightshare, for example, saw it as well, but then he left. So I think then it’s just harder to actually get the opinions through of people who worked with them.

Obviously also both players were expensive; both players on their peak individually are good, right? There’s no secret. I think Humanoid is still a very good player. Razork is a very good player.

So I think also then getting a second place, and getting a second place, you always tell yourself: “We’re so close, we’re so close, one more change and we get it”. So it’s hard to then make the cut, I think. And I think that’s the main reason, the belief was there that: “Oh, if you change something around them, then they might find together”.

But again, they’re both, friendly to each other. They like each other as people, but just the way they see the game and how they communicate about the game is very different. And again, just make sure — Humanoid was not the main issue. It’s not like we said Humanoid has to go no matter what. It just happened that in the configuration that we found in the offseason, that change was the best to make.

There were other factors as well in terms of, like, internally, what change improves what area. So it’s not that Humanoid was not trying to work with Razork or the other way around. It’s just sometimes in life the people don’t find together, right? That’s just how it is.

Fnatic also hired a performance coach during the off-season.

What has the impact been?

GrabbZ: It helps a lot to have someone who actually has expertise when it comes to nutrition, when it comes to what supplements to take, how to be healthier. For example, last split, when I say: “Guys, stand up, go for a walk a bit between games and scrims”, it’s a bit half assed, right? But then we now have someone who can actually give them exercises to do that help them, especially in long periods of sitting.

The players take it seriously because there is someone with an actual degree and the actual qualification, right? I think that’s always really important.

And he also addresses someone who doesn’t know the game that well. He’s a fan of the game, but of course not on a professional level. That means sometimes he can also just talk to players in a way where they can be free in their opinion without being scared of being judged, right? Because as much as I want to be, for example, neutral between, let’s say, player A and B, I have my own opinion of the game. So I will always be biased towards what I think is right.

With him, the players have an outlet who will not combine what they say with his own game knowledge, basically. I think that’s always very healthy.

You’ve been hosting your own press conferences after many matches this season, giving uniquely honest insights into the team’s progression.

What do you feel is the importance of keeping the fans updated in that way?

GrabbZ: It’s important because the fans make it possible, right? I think that the league itself, the people involved, are, like, on a very high horse. The things I’m talking about are just normal things that happen in sports, right? I’m not giving away any industry standards. I’m not giving away any precious information. But still, it’s important to give the fans feedback and show them that we value their time by explaining what we’re doing for the day, right?

I think if they give the time as a Fnatic fan to buy our merch, to watch our games, to interact with us on social media, then the least we can do is make sure they understand how we work. And if it yields results, then I can explain: “Okay, this is what we did, it didn’t work out”. But at least they know.

I think the worst we can do is, of course, leave a fanbase in the dark. Because they don’t know; are these people actually aware of the issues, are they fixing anything, why should I be a fan of the team? I’m not the biggest fan of streaming myself. I just do it because I think these are the reasons why it’s important.

I think we take a lot for granted what the fanbase actually is in League of Legends in general, which is also the reason why fans go to co-streamers, right? Because the personality is there. And it’s not the broadcast’s fault. I think that the orgs themselves and the players should do way more to just bring themselves out there. But yeah, I think just supporting the fans can actually fill their fandom with something of value and not just hearsay or trying to fill the blanks themselves.

I’ve seen you mention football a number of times during different interviews.

Is there any football coach or manager that you’ve taken inspiration from during your career?

GrabbZ: Of course, Jürgen [Klopp] is a big inspiration, but also because he is so different from me. I am not the motivator, so I just try to find ways to implement some of the things he does because I’m very different there.

The thing is, though, that the sport is very different in terms of, as a football coach, the most natural thing for you is that you can lead your way, and if someone doesn’t follow, they don’t play, right? I think that this is a very, very big difference from what we have currently, with no academy team, no second team.

So it’s kind of hard to transfer the influences besides the public appearance or the way they handle social interaction, basically. I try to be a more empathetic coach every year. I am very German, so I can be very direct and sort of seem very harsh. So each year I try to be a bit more understanding and, I guess, emotionally intelligent.

And then, of course, coaches like Ancelotti, like Klopp, come to mind, where players will work for them. The same thing for Mourinho. But, for example, it shows that after some years, you’re burnt out from the constant pushing, even though you push together, right? And that’s something I want to avoid.