Cover-Credits:
The final series of the first day in the Playoffs stage at the ESL One Malaysia 2022 saw the last hope of Southeast Asia in the tournament: Fnatic go up against the in-form Entity who sent home TSM earlier in the day. Despite starting the series off on the backfoot, home crowd favorites Fnatic made a comeback against all odds, securing a 2-1 victory.
Fnatic will continue its journey tomorrow, as it will face the winner of the OG vs Thunder Awaken in the Lower Bracket Semifinals, while Entity will join TSM and Nigma Galaxy as the third team eliminated from ESL One Malaysia 2022.
Fnatic vs Entity: Match recap
Entity’s form has been impressive throughout the season, having secured a top six finish at the Arlington Major despite having a stand-in. On the other hand, Fnatic were looking to stop Entity on its track despite having a rollercoaster performance yesterday, having to play a 1v1 mid lane tiebreaker against Nigma Galaxy to secure an upper bracket slot, before losing against Team Aster, dropping down to the lower bracket.
Recap
Fnatic vs Entity - Game One
Entity started the draft off with its signature Sven support for Dzmitry "Fishman" Palishchuk, pairing it with a triple lineup core of Lycan, Faceless Void and Batrider. Fnatic meanwhile, picked its signature Hoodwink on Djardel "DJ" Mampusti before closing it off with Mars, Omniknight, Storm Spirit and a surprising Sniper pick for Jinn "Palos" Lamatao.
Despite Fnatic’s early game going relatively well, Entity overwhelmed Fnatic with its teamfight presence and easily managed to focus down the carry Sniper to secure a relatively straightforward win in Game 1.
Fnatic vs Entity - Game Two
Game Two saw Fnatic turning up the tempo as they drafted a more aggressive lineup to counter Entity’s dominance as they picked Batrider for Armel “Armel” Tabios, Razor for Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong and Alchemist for Palos. Entity on the other hand, decided to draft some of its more comfortable picks, which Invoker picked for Stormstormer and its signature Pudge carry for Pure.
The early game went into Fnatic’s favor as DJ’s heroics on the Nyx Assassin, creating space for the other lanes and disrupting Pure’s farm allowed Armel, Jabz and Palos to farm their items as well allowing Fnatic to create a decent net worth advantage of 10K at the 20th minute mark.
Fnatic then translated the advantage into objectives, as Palos’s Alchemist is farmed with the necessary items while Jabz’s Razor dives into Entity’s heroes. Entity had no answer for Fnatic’s constant aggression as Fnatic ended up bringing the game into a close at the 31st minute mark.
Fnatic vs Entity - Game Three
Game Three of the series saw Entity tweaking its draft a bit as they picked the Ursa for Pure and Legion Commander (LC) for Stormstormer while Fnatic decided to go all in with its previous draft from Game Two, picking the same five heroes.
The first 20 minutes were even between both Entity and Fnatic, with Entity claiming the first Roshan of the game while Fnatic building up its net worth advantage. However, the game went the way of Fnatic as DJ’s heroics again on the Nyx Assassin, stunning three heroes in multiple teamfights seals the victory for Fnatic as they won the game in stunning fashion in 32 minutes.
The MVP of the series is undoubtedly Fnatic’s Djardel "DJ" Mampusti, as his Nyx Assassin during the second and third game combined with the home crowd advantage ensures the win for his team.
Fnatic will continue its journey tomorrow, as it will face the winner of the OG vs Thunder Awaken in the Lower Bracket Semifinals, while Entity will join TSM and Nigma Galaxy as the third and final elimination of the day at ESL One Malaysia 2022.
