Fnatic fell to FunPlus Phoenix on Friday in the lower bracket of VCT Masters Copenhagen, and will take an early flight home after being ousted from the tournament. Fnatic were a heavy favorite to win the tournament, but FPX will move on to the lower final.
With a final score of 2-1, FPX will move on to face OpTic Gaming in the lower final, and if they win there, they’ll move on to the grand final match. FPX were something of a mystery coming into Masters, since they haven’t competed at an international tournament before. They were scheduled to compete in the first Masters tournament of 2022, but were unable to make it due to visa and travel issues.
The result also held some EU vs. EU revenge, since FPX and Fnatic matched up earlier in the tournament in the first round of the bracket. Fnatic beat FPX 2-0 then, and sent them into the lower bracket. After fighting through Guild and DRX, FPX got the last laugh, beating the team that sent them to lowers after Fnatic fell to Paper Rex in the upper bracket semifinals.
FunPlus Phoenix vs. Fnatic match recap
The first map on Split got fans on their feet because the two teams were almost always neck-and-neck throughout the entire map. Although the half ended with FPX holding a decent lead, Fnatic came back and evened up the score, putting them back in the running for a win on Split.
Although it looked like FPX would win the map, Fnatic were able to bring it to overtime. In the first round of overtime, Enzo Mestari made an outstanding play, killing three enemies one right after the other, which set the pace for the overtime rounds. Fnatic were able to keep that momentum going and took the map 15-13.
Map two on Bind was slightly less entertaining, mainly because FPX kept the lead over Fnatic for the entire map. The half ended with FPX up by two rounds, and managed to keep that momentum going int the second half, sending the match to a decisive map three.
The third and final map on Fracture did not start out well for Fnatic, and the 9-3 curse was broken yet again. FPX cleaned up an easy win on the map and completed their sweet revenge over Fnatic.
FPX can now finish no lower than third place at Masters Copenhagen, a fantastic result after failing to qualify for any international LAN in 2021 and travel restrictions prevented them from competing at Masters Reykjavik. They will have to win against NA’s OpTic Gaming tomorrow, July 22, in order to stay in the competition and move on to the grand final.
