LEC: Fnatic Addresses Hate Messages, Reminds that Players are Humans Too

Fnatic, the once-heavyweight of the League of Legends EMEA [Europe, Middle East, and Africa] Championship (LEC), was knocked out of the running just three weeks into the new LEC Winter Split in 2023. After a disappointing 2-7 start to its campaign, the team is always back to the drawing board to make changes before the Spring Split in March. However, it is evident that the players and the team were under immense pressure to deliver being an elite organization in the LEC. Fnatic addressed the hate messages that its players received after the LEC Winter Split and reminded fans that pros also have feelings.

Fnatic sends a strong message to fans

On 14th February, Fnatic released a new episode of its Legends in Action Winter 2023 series and showed fans a glimpse of the emotions and stress that the players and the staff go through when their backs up are against the wall. At the start of the video titled, “The Pressure Was Too Much,” Team Director Javier "Dardo" Zafra stated that he is still affected by the whole situation and how the community reacted to the team's failure at the LEC Winter 2023 Split. He said, “To a certain extent I understand the frustration, I understand how people are looking now at our result, but at the same time, there are certain behaviors that I will never be able to justify or understand.”

Following this, the video showed Fnatic players Marek "Humanoid" Brázda and Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz conversing and Razork read out some of the hate messages he received after his performance. He said, “I am getting so many death threats,” and read out a message from a viewer that was filled with imprecations. 

Quoting this instance, Fnatic wrote on Twitter, “And a reminder that your messages in the heat of tough losses are seen, read, and very much affect real people. Some easy to laugh off, others not so much. These losses affect players more than anyone else. For all the supportive messages this last week, we appreciate it.”

While one Twitter user opined that the message Razork received “is not a death threat,” Fnatic reiterated that it was unacceptable. It replied, “It's unacceptable and over the line whether it's directed as a threat or not. This mentality = part of the problem.”

Talking about the seriousness of the situation further, Fnatic Social Media Manager David aka davard wrote, “I don't feel the need to tweet stuff like this very often but the amount of death threats and pure hate I've seen following winter split has just been disgusting. Do better.”

While the team and its management acknowledged some of the issues that plagued during this split, the members were confident that Fnatic will be back at the top in no time. With the new LEC format, Fnatic will only play again in the Spring Split and has plenty of time to work on the issues.