During a recent Red Bull Gaming media day, I had an opportunity to sit down with Iván “Razork” Martín Díaz and Marek “Humanoid” Brázda of Fnatic. The famous esports organisation is one of the oldest teams inLeague of Legendshistory, becoming the Season One World Champions and acting as perennial contenders in the fledgling European scene. Unfortunately, they haven’t had a title-winning split since Summer 2017.
So, it’s an interesting time for Fnatic. The core trio of Razork, Humanoid, and Óscar “Oscarinin” Muñoz Jiménez have been in place for two years now, but the team recently made the big step of replacing its well-regarded bottom lane with two European veterans in Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle and Elias “Upset” Lipp. These changes coincide with a whole new coaching staff this season, led by head coach Fabian “Grabzz” Lohmann.
Success is Relative
After a third-place finish in the LEC Winter Split Playoffs 2025, Fnatic is looking to mount another challenge for the title this Spring. However, for Humanoid, another high finish is nothing to be proud of.
“[The year is] not successful yet,” Humanoid says. “We haven’t won anything. So far, I would say… not great. At the same time, this time we have a pretty good chance to win.”
2024 was a typical year for Fnatic: still clearly one of the best teams in Europe, but objectively not the very best, losing twice to G2 Esports in successive domestic finals. The season was capped off by a disappointing exit at the Swiss stage of the World Championship (Worlds).
Fnatic hasn’t finished in the top eight of Worlds since 2020, a statistic illustrative of the team’s recent performance ceiling; good enough to be there, not good enough to make an impact.
A common criticism of Fnatic last year was the team’s headstrong style of play. At times, the team seemed driven by instinct rather than clear communication and planning. A big reason Fnatic fans are more optimistic this time around is the addition of Grabbz and his coaching staff, and the replacement of an all-Korean bottom lane with two known European quantities.
“Before [Miky and Upset] joined, with Noah and Jun, the communication was a little bit weird,” Razork explains. “We were not understanding each other that well. I don’t know if that was because of a language barrier or whatever. With Miky and Upset, I feel we understand each other better. Our communication is not the cleanest. We definitely get stressed and panic a lot in comms sometimes. I feel it’s getting slowly better with Grabbz, Gaax and Duffman”
Three-Horse Race
There was quite a surprise in the Winter Split when Karmine Corp, rather than perpetual champions G2 Esports, ended up winning the split in dominant fashion. Karmine Corp would go on to represent Europe in the new international tournament First Stand, where, after a rough start, the French organisation ended up placing second behind Korea’s Hanwha Life Esports.
But this wasn’t a surprise to Humanoid, who asserted that every professional in Europe knew going in that G2 Esports, Karmine Corp and Fnatic were the three best teams in Europe, “Since we were playing each other right from the start, you could tell they were good,” he said.
Although the European faithful were delighted to see Karmine Corp overcome China’s Top Esports and Taiwan’s CTBC Flying Oyster to finish second in the tournament, there is still a lot of scepticism as to whether LEC’s level of play is high enough to consistently finish second at international tournaments this year.
“I wouldn’t say it’s likely, but there’s a chance,” Humanoid explains while Razork nods his head in agreement. “Just because KC beat one Chinese team doesn’t really make LPL bad, so we’ll just have to see.”
Given the rise of Karmine Corp, Europe now has three top teams, with many pointing to MKOI as a potential fourth-best team. Despite KC’s recent triumph, the pair still believe G2 is the team to beat.
“I would say G2 is the hardest,” Razork says without hesitation. “That’s just my personal experience. I feel they are very disciplined. I feel KC and MKOI are more willing to take risks in certain aspects of the game, but I feel G2 are so disciplined and stable, they don’t make too many crucial mistakes, so you have to play very clean to get a lead.”
Skill Gulf
One of the most exciting developments in the European League of Legends scene recently is the formation of Los Ratones, a team that balances personality with competitive ambitions, formed by popular streamer Marc Robert “Caedrel” Lamont. Los Ratones surprised many by winning the Winter Split of EMEA Masters, the most prestigious regional competition beneath the LEC.
Los Ratones is unique in that the team streams every scrimmage, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the processes of a professional League of Legends team. However, this pillar of Los Ratones also means they don’t tend to scrim versus LEC teams, which are hesitant to have their practices streamed publicly for competitors and fans alike to see.
As it stands, Los Ratones are the best team in Europe outside of the LEC. However, the pair believe there is a massive gulf between European Regional Leagues (ERLs) and the LEC, and as a result, they also believe Los Ratones wouldn’t get far in Europe’s top league.
There is no promotion and relegation in the LEC because it is a franchised league. The only way Los Ratones could play in LEC is if they pay for a franchising spot, which costs millions.
“I would say they would be a solid ninth or tenth, probably,” Razork says. “I think there are teams that are equal to them, but yeah, they have been scrimming against ERL teams, so it’s hard to say. They’ll just have to play LEC to see what their real level is, because ERL teams and LEC teams are on a different level right now.”
As our interview wound down, I asked Razork an all-important question. Given the scarce information he had about me, did he reckon my Sejuani was better than his? Immediately after posing this question, Humanoid began shaking his head, knowing the truth was imminent.
“I don’t know about your ELO but… my Sejuani I would say is pretty f**king bad. There is a chance that your Sejuani is better than mine, yeah.” The ensuing nod from Humanoid was all the validation I needed to know this was an absolute truth.
Fnatic have a competitive upcoming weekend, playing both MKOI and G2 Esports. These matches will take place on April 26 and April 27.
