Fresh off of a one-sided victory over Origen in week six of the 2020 LEC Summer Split, Fnatic’s star top laner Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau gave us his thoughts on the team’s most recent win, his growth as a player this season, and how the European teams are stacking up against each other heading into playoffs.
Looking at their match against Origen, Bwipo said that comfort picks made all the difference for the League of Legends team—even though it wasn’t necessarily their gameplan heading into the match. As the game progressed, Fnatic took advantage of OG’s lack of productivity and snowballed their lead as a result.
“It was a very slow game from them, and I feel like a lot of opportunities with the Bard ultimate—like I remember there was a time where they forced our Jhin flash, and Bard never actually ulted him again,” Bwipo said. “So I think they were missing a lot of opportunities—or at least not looking for them—which made it a lot easier for us to play our game.”
There are two more weeks of the split remaining, with a superweek to finish off the regular season. Although every game counts for playoff spots, Bwipo believes that there isn’t as much pressure for him and his team to win every single game.
Making playoffs is ultimately what matters—whether its in fifth seed or first—and Fnatic are no strangers to the bright lights and demands that the LEC postseason always brings.
“We still believe that we’re a strong team, and in a best of five setting, everything changes because you can change between games rather quickly, and that’s where player difference and player flexibility can really show,” Bwipo said.
Although the goal isn’t to go 1-1 every weekend moving forward, the team won’t be too angry if it does happen. All they need to do is make the postseason, and then they can figure out seeding from that point onward.
The 21-year-old also said that he had one of his biggest learning lessons of the season, when he took over the game as Gangplank against Origen. His “revelation” was that he’s really good at winning early game and carrying, or losing a little bit early and fighting in the mid game stages. He didn’t need to wait for three items, and he didn’t pick a champion that had a weak laning phase.
“I think taking those fights, communicating that I want to fight, and putting myself in a position that we can fight is ultimately what made this game go as smooth as it did,” Bwipo said.