Fnatic fail to make LEC playoffs for the first time in its history

One of the oldest and most successful teams in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), Fnatic has failed to qualify for playoffs for the first time since it became part of the championship.

A disappointing result for fans and the team alike, Fnatic held a record of two wins and seven losses across their nine games in the first week of the LEC's new EMEA format, finishing in ninth place.

In an official statement on their Twitter, the Fnatic team offered their apologies to fans, thanked them for their support and promised to come back stronger.

They said: "This outcome is not acceptable for Fnatic, nor is it a reflection of the level of performance our fans deserve to see from us in the LEC.

"We will take time to reflect and come back even stronger."

Fnatic's CEO Sam Matthews also made a statement regarding the team's performance, stating that the blame lies with him and asking fans to be kind to the players and staff working throughout the LEC.

Matthews said: "We have two more splits in front of us. We have a lot of options in front of us.

"Better this happened now than us muddling our way through. We get a chance to rethink. We're going to come back much stronger."

Multiple Fnatic players such as Wunder, Rekkles, and Rhuckz expressed their disappointment as well as intent to improve via Twitter as well, and it's likely the players will discuss the situation more during their extended offseason.

Finally, Fnatic's coach Javier "Dardo" Zafra said on his Twitter that he is the only person responsible for the team's failure, but that they would be using the time to improve.

Ending hopefully, Zafra said: "I can confidently promise this is not the Fnatic you will see for the rest of 2023.

"We will fix this and be back at the top fighting."

What do you think about FNC's performance, and future prospects? Let us know in the comments.