A stunning 3-1 victory over Winter champions Karmine Corp not only moved Fnatic into the final three of the LEC Summer Finals, but also secured their much-needed Worlds spot — the organisation’s ninth qualification in a row. After the series, Hotspawn spoke to Fnatic support Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle for an interview.
Hotspawn: Let’s start with Fnatic’s qualification to Worlds, the ninth time in a row for the org.
Is it relieving as much as anything else to have secured a spot?
Mikyx: I guess, yeah. And for sure we have some plot armour with Fnatic, and it would kind of suck to be the one team or one roster that doesn’t make it.
But for me, I don’t really care too much about the Worlds qualification. I kind of just want to win, because I think going as a third seed or second seed is kind of not as nice as going as the first seed. So now we kind of have to win the split.
Hotspawn: Aiming to win the split would’ve been the goal all year for Fnatic, and you had deep runs in Winter and Spring but ultimately couldn’t make it happen.
What do you think is different for these LEC Summer Finals?
Mikyx: Maybe the Spanish crowd, we got kind of a buff, because I was not expecting us to play this well as well. I think it’s the best games we’ve played so far this year. And yeah, especially Oscar was smurfing completely on Canna. He was making fun of him. So yeah, let’s hope we can pull this off. Two more best-of-fives and then we have a title.
Hotspawn: As you’ve said, Oscar was in crazy form today, especially in what was thought to be the best lane matchup for KC, given that Canna has been their strongest player this year.
What were your thoughts on Oscar’s performance?
Mikyx: It was, it was crazy for sure. Like it was good, we had some good counter picks for his picks. I mean honestly, drafts were also very one-sided I felt like in the series, but I didn’t expect Oscar to just like 1v1 him like game after game.
And then after he got some leads, we just kept playing towards him and we just made sure that others don’t solo lose the game. And then he just took over, and yeah, I was impressed.
Hotspawn: Game three was the one blip on the record.
What happened there?
Mikyx: I think we kind of messed up a fight in the bot lane, bot river. We kind of lost that one and they got four Drakes. I think they stole one as well. And I think we were quite indecisive in fights.
We kind of are supposed to be the ones starting the fight first and engaging, but they always just Maokai ulted, and I hook the first guy, and that guy probably dies or has to run out, and then they kind of kill everyone else.
But yeah, in the end it was still kind of winnable. I think we had good situations like with Elder and stuff, but yeah, we just kind of misplayed in the end. Even though we got some picks, we didn’t really capitalise on it well enough and got outscaled in the end by Cloud Soul and Sivir.
Hotspawn: The Madrid crowd was very much on Fnatic’s side today.
Could you hear them during the games?
Mikyx: Yeah. It felt quite nice, every time we make a good play the crowd is going wild. It was a bit easier to communicate than last time we were in Madrid, I think maybe because the stage is a bit higher up and we’re a bit more isolated. So it felt easier to communicate, or maybe the headsets were better, I don’t know. But yeah, it was nice overall.
Hotspawn: How did you actually get to the top of the stage, did you have to walk up stairs?
Mikyx: Yeah, we walk like four flights of stairs.
Hotspawn: So when it went to game four it was a bit annoying, you got to go up and down again?
Mikyx: Yeah, it was, yeah. Especially because I had to go to the toilet in between every game. So I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I need to walk this up and down’.
Hotspawn: So you’re going for 3-0s [for] the next two?
Mikyx: Yeah.
Hotspawn: Speaking of the next games then, KOI tomorrow.
What are your thoughts ahead of that one?
Mikyx: I’m not sure if they should be easier than KC, but I think on paper they should be. I don’t think they were particularly great last time we played them. I think we just played a lot worse than we showed today. So I think if we can show up the same way and have good drafts again, then I think we should win pretty handily.
But you never know on the day what happens. And they also have the stage buff, maybe the Madrid buff. They were the kings of Madrid last time. So yeah, it’s gonna be a hype one.
Hotspawn: There’s still some work to be done first, but next month you will now be heading to Worlds.
What’s your outlook there in terms of who’s going, who’s looking strong, and who you’d like to face?
Mikyx: I think the LCK looks pretty strong so far. I’d like to play T1, actually. Yeah, they did make it, so that’s nice. I’d like to play against Keria. I’ve always liked playing against him, he’s very good mechanically. He plays a lot of funny champions as well. So, yeah, I’d like to play him.
And then I’d like to also play against FlyQuest because right now they’re one of the best Western teams, probably the best one. But, yeah, I guess we’ll have to see for ourselves if we get to play them. I want to see how they are from my own point of view.
