Under the SEA (League): A closer look at Fnatic

This article is part of “Under the SEA (League)” a preview of the teams that will be competing for the US$100,000 prize pool at the ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League.

With four tournament wins under their belt heading into the SEA League, Fnatic will be looking to make it a fifth straight.

Here’s a quick rundown of the team’s performance this year, and a closer look at the Fnatic roster and how it matches up against its SEA rivals in the ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League.

Fnatic roster shuffle post TI9

After an underwhelming TI9 run, Fnatic was forced to make some changes to its roster with the departure of mid laner Abed “Abed” Yusop, who decided to join Evil Geniuses over in North America. At the same time, former coach and player Kim “DuBu” Doo-young had elected to depart from Fnatic after the conclusion of his contract.

Fnatic then signed Kam “Moon” Boon Seng and Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon as Abed and DuBu’s replacements. Moon is a talented mid laner who was previously with Mineski. Meanwhile, 23savage was a young, up-and-coming talent that Fnatic signed despite his lack of tournament experience.

2019-2020 Dota 2 season

At the start of 2019-2020 DPC season, Fnatic’s new roster looked to be the frontrunners in the Southeast Asian region, finishing in first place in the MDL Chengdu Major SEA qualifier. However, the team underperformed during the MDL Chengu Major main event, finishing in 9-12th place. This continued in the next Major of the season, where Fnatic dominated in the qualifiers for DreamLeague Season 13, but ultimately failed to follow through at the main event.

Fnatic was about to get its third opportunity to gain some major DPC points (after qualifying for ESL One Los Angeles), but the COVID-19 pandemic subsequently put a halt to the current DPC season. But prior to the cancellation of all physical Dota 2 events, Fnatic did manage to show that it had improved significantly by winning Dota Summit 12, effectively sweeping Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, and OG Seed in the Grand Final.

Fnatic then transitioned to online regional tournaments, where it has seen much better results. First, the team won the ESL One Los Angeles 2020 – Online: Southeast Asia by defeating Team Adroit in the Grand Final.

Next, Fnatic set its sights on the BTS Pro Series: Southeast Asia, where it went 14-1 for the entire tournament. Fnatic capped off the tournament with a sweeping spree, defeating TNC Predator 3-0.

Afterward, Fnatic won its fourth straight tournament, ESL One Birmingham 2020: Southeast Asia. Here, Fnatic faced rising Indonesian Dota 2 squad, BOOM Esports — a team that had finished above Fnatic in the group stage. Fnatic proved to be the superior team, beating BOOM Esports in both the Upper Bracket Final and the Grand Final.

Team Breakdown

Fnatic’s success comes from the team’s impressive Southeast Asian all-star lineup, which features Kam “Moon” Boon Seng providing consistent mid lane performances and Djardel “DJ” Mampusti’s incredible support play.

The team also has wild card offlaner Daryl Koh “iceiceice” Pei Xiang, who is known for his unorthodox play. Fnatic is led by Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong, who has grown into his captain role well.

Finally, 23savage has come a long way from joining the team back in September. He is now a reliable hard carry player, and has been building up confidence each time he competes.

Fnatic roster:

Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon
Kam “Moon” Boon Seng
Daryl Koh “iceiceice”Pei Xiang
Djardel “DJ” Mampusti
Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong

Fnatic will be gunning for its fifth straight title at the ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League, which also makes them the prime target and team to beat for the rest of the competition.