Excel Esports vs Fnatic Preview and Predictions: LEC 2023 Summer Playoffs

Excel Esports vs Fnatic is the most important match for Excel, as it’s the make or break for their Season Finals – as well as their Summer Split.

Friday marked the start of the last round of the 2023 LEC Summer Playoffs, with Fnatic facing off against Team Heretics to decide who can play against Excel Esports – and who gets to qualify for the Season Finals. Fnatic came out on top after dominant series which started a bit slow, knocking the Spanish squad out for the rest of the year – but can they get through Excel to realize their dream and give us another G2 – Fnatic Final?

Contents

1 Excel Esports vs Fnatic Preview
- 1.1 Excel Esports
- 1.2 Fnatic
2 Excel Esports vs Fnatic Predictions
3 Where to watch Excel Esports vs Fnatic

Excel Esports vs Fnatic Preview

Excel Esports

Excel Esports keeps surprising everyone in the Summer Split. After finishing 10^th two times, they brought on Lee “Peach” Min-gyu for the jungle position and put Felix “Abbedagge” Braun in the midlane permanently. They went 5-4 in the Regular Season with a 3-0 weekend sprinkled in it, finishing 3^rd place for the first time this year. In the Group Stage, they beat MAD Lions 2-0, then went on to defeat SK Gaming 2-1 to qualify for the Playoffs.

Everyone expected them to get demolished by G2 Esports, and while they couldn’t beat the Kings of Europe, the series was far from a stomp. Excel Esports gave G2 a run for their money, fighting until the last match – where Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther and his team beat them fairly easily, but it’s the journey that matters.

Fnatic

Fnatic also had a rough start to their year, finishing 9^th in Winter and 8^th in Spring. However, they managed to beat every team in the Regular Season except SK Gaming and G2 Esports, securing 2^nd place just above Excel Esports. While they had a longer journey to the Playoffs after SK Gaming destroyed them 2-0 in Round 1, they managed to stand up, beating MAD then taking their revenge on SK.

Against Heretics, they had a horrible first match where their draft looked like something out of Spring Split, but afterwards, they showed the fans that they really adapted to the 13.13 meta: they played champions like Rumble and Varus to perfection, deciding games in the mid game which was their weakest profile in the Regular Split and in Group Stage.

Excel Esports vs Fnatic Predictions

The two teams have very similar solo laners, at least in their Summer performances. Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu and Oscár “Oscarinin” Munoz Jiménez are both capable of carrying with champions like Rumble, but they can also weakside while letting their teams shine. Marek “Humanoid” Brázda and Abbedagge are also similar in playstyle, so don’t expect to see LeBlanc or Jayce in this series – at least unanswered.

The difference lies in their botlanes and jungles: while Patrik “Patrik” Jírú is the main carry of the team, he’s not as explosive as On “Noah” Hyeon-taek, and Iván “Razork” Martín Díaz is much more consistent than Peach. This gives Fnatic an edge, and if they can replicate their Friday performance, they might ruin Excel’s dreams.