Team Fnatic Preview: ESL One Manila
Alongside MVP Phoenix, Fnatic are one of the top teams in the SEA region.
They came into existence when Mushi and former Orange and Mineski players were signed by the Fnatic organization in June 2015.
Apart from Mushi, the roster back then featured Chong Xin “Ohaiyo” Khoo, and former Orange players Lee Kong “kYxY” Yang and Fadil bin Mohd “Kecik Imba” Raziff, as well as ex-Mineski star Siong Tait “JoHnNy” Lee.
After a disappointing TI 5 performance, the team underwent changes, with kYxY, JoHnNy and Kecik Imba all leaving. The team then signed three more players, two of whom are still on the roster, namely Wai Pern “Net” Lim and Djardel Jicko “Chrissy/DJ” Mampusti. They played alongside the experienced German Carry Dominik “Black^” Reitmeier.
Following another disappointing performance at their first Major in Frankfurt, Black^ was replaced by the unproven Yeik Zheng “Miduan” Nai, shaping the roster as it is now.
Roster:
Chai Yee “Mushi” Fung (c) – position 1
Yeik Zheng “Miduan” Nai – position 2
Chong Xin “Ohaiyo” Khoo – position 3
Djardel Jicko “Chrissy/DJ” Mampusti – position 4
Wai Pern “Net” Lim – position 5
Substitute:
Adam Erwann Shah “343” bin Akhtar Hussein – position 1
2016 achievements:
The Shanghai Major 2016 – 5-6th
Star Ladder Star Series Season 13 & i-League Season 4 – 7-12th
Win rate:
March – 92.3% (24 wins, 2 losses)
Patch 6.86 – 70.7% (53 wins, 22 losses)
Top 5 most picked heroes (patch 6.86)
| Hero | Pick % | Times Picked |
| Vengeful Spirit | 49.3 | 37 |
| Invoker | 45.3 | 34 |
| Witch Doctor | 41.3 | 31 |
| Tusk | 37.3 | 28 |
| Earth Spirit | 36.0 | 27 |
Top 6 most hated heroes (patch 6.86)
| Hero | Ban % | Times Banned |
| Invoker | 49.3 | 37 |
| Enchantress | 38.7 | 29 |
| Gyrocopter | 37.3 | 29 |
| Earth Spirit | 36.0 | 27 |
| Juggernaut | 36.0 | 27 |
| Io | 36.0 | 27 |
Mushi is a key figure whose invaluable experience and composure have helped the team to improve significantly over the course of just a couple of months. Mushi has bettered his play in this time too, becoming a more competitive drafter – a role that was new to him during the early life of the team. His absence due to his worsened asthma will certainly be felt, but he is still expected to be present in Manila in the role of a coach and motivator.
Despite the star of the team not playing, he has been successfully replaced by Adam “343-Flyy” Shah. Fnatic have dominated the SEA region over the last month, winning both the ESL One Manila SEA Qualifier as well as the newly announced EPICENTER (SEA Qualifier).
The team only recently ended their unbelievable record streak of 23 consecutive wins. Half of those wins were achieved without Mushi, including the impressive 3-0 success against MVP Phoenix during the EPICENTER qualifications.
One of the players who should get more credit is Chrissy/DJ. He has been a very stable Support and has been a decisive factor in many team battles recently. His Chen (13 wins, 7 losses) and Enigma (5 wins, 0 losses) have been particularly instrumental.
Fnatic have been playing well in recent weeks and certainly have the quality to finish among the top 4. With top tier teams such as EHOME and Team Secret having signed new players prior to the tournament their chances of a very credible playing are strong.
Dafabet will be providing competitive odds on ESL One Manila.
