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Cover and thumbnail via @PUBG Mobile India
Fnatic carried over their online form to the LAN, emerging victorious at the PUBG Mobile All Stars. While Fnatic’s entry to PUBG Mobile made a lot of noise, the team had a disappointing outing on their debut, falling flat at the PMCO Fall South Asia Qualifiers. However, the team managed to go all the way in Hyderabad, despite having to bring in a substitute at the last moment. It was an incredibly close tournament, with just 1 point separating the top two teams when the final match kicked off. However, the boys in orange and black held on with a big showing from their latest recruit, Ash and managed to finish in second place, bringing home the trophy.
Also read: Fnatic and Orange Rock announce new rosters
Mayhem Take the Fight to Fnatic
One would have expected names like Entity Gaming, ETG.Brawlers, Team IND or even 8 bit to be the ones to challenge Fnatic, but it was actually Mayhem who rose up to the challenge. The team kept things tense at the top of the table, and along with Fnatic and Insane were the only teams to pick up two WWCDs in the tournament. However, they chose to play it very safe in the last game and didn’t put up a fight, instead choosing to stay in the blue and go for the heals. The plan didn’t work as Fnatic already had early kills and were already in the zone allowing them to outlive Mayhem. Nonetheless it was an exceptional performance from Mayhem, who while not the most recognizable team, played their hearts out to take the second place.
Image via: @PUBG Mobile India
Big Names End up Disappointing
While Entity Gaming were able to redeem themselves by finishing in the top 4, some of the other big names in the Indian PUBG Mobile scene did disappoint. PMIT winners, 8bit ended in 10th place and while the team's decision making and strategies looked solid, they seem to be lacking a bit of firepower to go against some of the other top teams. Team IND, despite a solid online performance with 7 chicken dinners, finished in 11th place, mainly thanks to a good performance by Slayer. The new Orange Rock roster with Daljitsk and Anto also got off to a poor start, finishing 12th. The team who were the most disappointing of the lot were the 13th placed ETG.Brawlers, who only picked up 23 kills despite being known as one of the most aggressive teams in India.
Fnatic Sends a Strong Message with First LAN Win
The addition of a new coach seems to have done wonders for Fnatic as the team looked much better in terms of rotations and strategies. Almost all aspects of their game have improved, such as better decision making, communication and reading of the game. What's the most interesting thing about their victory is the fact that the team were not only playing with a substitute, but they were also missing one of their best players in Sc0utop. But to be fair, Sangwan, their substitute played brilliantly, despite only joining the team a day before the LAN. Along with Owais and Ronak, Fnatic's new player, Ash was also as impressive if not more, showing a good combination of both brains and firepower in his performances.
While it may not be fair to judge the teams based on just one tournament, that too one whose format is quite different from international ones, it's fair to say that Fnatic have managed to send a strong message to a lot of people who have been doubting them in recent times.
Also read: Interview with ScoutOP
For their win, Fnatic take home 20 lakh INR plus another 5 lakh INR for their win in the online stage. Entity Gaming won the fan's choice award, taking home 2 lakh along with another 2 lakh from their 4th place finish. Mayhem secure the second place finish and will receive 8 lakh INR for their win while third place Team Insane go home with 5 lakhs in their kitty.
The PUBG Mobile action for 2019 is still not over, as Fnatic, SouL and Synerge will be playing in the Peacekeeper Elite Championship against some of the best teams in the world on the 28th and 29th.
