Fnatic Crushes NA's Last Hope: Fnatic sends 100 Thieves home from VCT LOCK//IN Sao Paulo 2023
On the last day of the VCT LOCK//IN Sao Paulo Bracket stage, The Semifinals of the Omega Group were played. The day started and concluded with domination. In a one-sided affair, EMEA sent home two Americas teams. Starting with NaVi demolishing Leviatan, the EMEA super team in Fnatic took on 100 thieves in the final match of the bracket stage. Fnatic sends home the last of NA in 100 Thieves in a one-sided affair.
Map Veto:
100 Thieves went with their perma-ban in Ascent. At the event, 100 Thieves have steered away from playing Ascent. Similarly, Fnatic banned Pearl, a map they have been banning at the VCT LOCK//IN. 100 thieves picked Fracture, a map they hadn't shown at the event. Fnatic picked Icebox. 100 Thieves have looked insane on the map and yet to lose, but Fnatic still chose to play it.
100 Thieves, with their second map ban, chose Split instead of Haven or Lotus. Fnatic banned Haven to ensure they aren't anti-strated like they were in the Furia game and played Lotus instead. The map veto favored Fnatic, as EMEA teams traditionally look stronger on Fracture. And Fnatic has seen 100 Thieves' Fracture but has yet to show theirs.
Moreover, Fnatic is looking strong and, going into the fixture, are the heavy favorites. 100 thieves, on the other hand, have been struggling to close out matches, and Fnatic will be a big test for them.
Map 1 Fracture (100 Thieves 1-13 Fnatic):
Agent Composition:
It was a first look from both the teams, and neither had played Fracture before the fixture. Fnatic featured a conventional Fracture composition with Breach+Brimstone+Raze+Fade and replaced Chamber with Killjoy. They used this composition at the Superdome tournament they attended.
The composition works exceptionally well for them, as Boaster is one of the best players on Brimstone and has exciting plays with the utils. The composition is neither too aggressive nor passive and has been played by multiple teams.
On the other hand, 100 Thieves featured a more attack-side composition with Omen, Raze, Kay/O, Breach, and Cypher, a variation of the composition they used at the Red Bull event and won the whole thing. The composition works well for them, allowing Bang to play aggressively with the team. It also helps in pulling deep fakes. Cypher also is an excellent asset on the attack, as the universal abilities of the agent make him a strong lurker.
Fracture Rundown:
In the very first round, Fnatic's methodical, well-drilled plan for the attack was on full display. The set protocols for defending the spike for B Arcade, the Brimstone Incendiary, deny the early defuse. Fnatic had some set structure. Despite being a simple B execute with the plant in the second round, Boaster tried to farm ult orbs to secure the Orbital strike.
100 Thieves displayed aggression to counter the Fnatic default and secured a round. But in the next round, Fnatic used a utility combination on Sands to take out Cryo. This discouraged 100 Thieves' aggression by a lot. Additionally, the comms from Fnatic look solid, and the protocols while executing on the site made it hard for 100 Thieves to find a gap.
Even when Fnatic was caught off-guard, they re-adjusted well, and the mid-round calling and the awareness of Fnatic seemed to outclass 100 Thieves. A big part of Fnatic's dominance on the first map was the efficient utility usage which is a big drawback of Brimstone. Managing when and where the utility will be deployed from Fnatic gave them an edge over 100 thieves. The sheer dominance from Fnatic was reflected in the 13-1 scoreline for the 100 Thieves map pick.
Map 2 Icebox (100 Thieves 10-13 Fnatic):
Agent Composition:
100 Thieves ran the same composition for Icebox as they did previously, and you can read about it here. TL;DR for the composition is a defensive composition that double's down with Omen as an attacker.
Fnatic, on the other hand, brought nothing new. They ran a standard composition with Sova, KJ Viper, Sage, and Jett instead of Chamber. Fnatic has been running this composition for a while now. Multiple teams also used the composition, and it worked great.
Icebox Rundown:
Fnatic's game plan for choosing Icebox was the anti-strating, which was apparent in the first round when Boaster pushed and killed the 100 Thieves planter and returned safely. Despite 100 Thieves planting the spike multiple times, Fnatic's fast retakes caught them off-guard. 100 Thieves' first round came after Fnatic pushed the Killjoy ult and misplayed by not clearing Asuna.
Fnatic's counterplays to the 100 thieves' attack made them look like the EU superteam they are. Fnatic always took over the map control, helping them to get a better read on the 100T attack. The Icebox pick from Fnatic worked well, and they secured a strong 10-2 half.
But it was not over for 100 Thieves, as they are a strong defensive force with Omen in the lineup. And the defense shone, as 100 Thieves converted an early man advantage into a strong pistol round win. The 100 Thieves' defense held strong giving them two more rounds. Despite a bomb plant, The Omen-led retake of 100 Thieves was paying off. Fnatic did win a round off a scrappy buy, but 100 Thieves defense looked scarier with every passing round.
The retake protocols from 100 Thieves matched Fnatic, and Fnatic started losing rounds. The omen pick of 100 Thieves again worked wonders. In the 20th round, Fnatic contested the site after the plant, and it helped them secure their map point round. But 100 Thieves did not budge and shut down the Fnatic attack again, helping them secure ten rounds. But Fnatic's mid-round rotation after pulling in 100 Thieves and the shorty kills of Derke helped Fnatic secure the second map.
100 Thieves displayed some amazing Valorant throughout the competition and gave us some of the best matches. With the dominating win, Fnatic set the stage for the Fnatic-Natus Vincere match-up. Starting with the VCT LOCK//IN Omega Group finals, the match will set the stage for the upcoming rivalry, an ode to the FPX-Fnatic rivalry.
Image Source: Valorant Champions Tour Twitter
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