Top Esports vs. Fnatic 10/17/20 - 2020 World Championship Picks & Predictions

This is where things get a whole lot more interesting: Top Esports vs. Fnatic. A clash between the current LPL champions and the former “Kings of Europe.” What’s not to like? On the one hand, anyone other than DAMWON will automatically be considered as an underdog against the Chinese champions. On the other, Fnatic is as experienced a team as they come, and they’re also insanely clutch. How many times did they excel once their backs were against the wall? Too many to count. It’s like they improve and ascend performance-wise as the stakes go higher. The lower the odds, the better the gameplay.

This line-up, in particular, is exceptional in the most nuanced of ways. They might not be perfect, but they’re darn good at what they do, especially when they manage to set things up and execute to the best of their ability. Their road towards the 2020 World Championship has been quite treacherous but they’ve cleaned up their play quite a lot. Heck, maybe that’s even an understatement. The fact that we’re seeing them in the Top 8 should come as no surprise, but it feels like their journey will soon come to an end. Drawing Top Esports for their quarter-final opponents is arguably the second-worst fate they could’ve had, with the first one being a clash against DAMWON. 

In the end, no matter how good or talented Fnatic might be, it feels nigh impossible to bet against Top Esports. They’re not infallible. That’s pretty much a fact, but they’ve yet to slip in the second half of 2020, and even if they do drop the ball it still feels like they’d have to face a DAMWON Gaming or a G2 Esports for that to happen. Fnatic, while talented and dangerous, just aren’t on that level. They might be close — close enough to perhaps make this a five-game brawl — but not to actually go the whole nine yards. 

All of that aside, the boys in black and orange never go down without a fight. They have all the right tools and players to throw down with Top Esports and compete on even footing. So expect a chaotic, skirmish-heavy Best of 5 that’s bound to entertain in all the right ways. In the end, however, Top Esports should definitely be able to emerge victorious.