For the first three months of this year the Counter Strike professional scene lived in a state of perpetual fear in regards to their big brothers on Fnatic. Stringing together a series of six LAN wins, starting from Faceit Stage 3 finals and ending at IEM Katowice 2016, Fnatic seemed nigh unbeatable. Boasting the world’s best player, Olofmeister, flanked with some of the greatest Swedish professionals to ever touch Counter Strike, it seemed to the general public that this Fnatic roster would remain at the top of the scene for an unhealthy amount of time. However, all good things must come to an end, and even Fnatic could not escape the cruel embrace of misfortune.

At MLG Columbus the public was informed that Olofmeister had succumbed to injury and would be unable to play Counter Strike for an indefinite period of time. Just as quickly as Fnatic found themselves at the top of the scene they found themselves cast aside as after thoughts, being designated as simply one of the rest, they were forced to watch as Luminosity Gaming supplanted them as kings of the hill.

Stand-in Misfortune

Replacing the best player in the world will never be a simple task, but Fnatic was not only forced to replace the best player in the world, but also the greatest player to ever touch the game of Counter Strike Global Offensive. The struggles of a search for a replacement were not alleviated by the fact that a large portion of Fnatic’s success on Terrorist’s sides came out of the play of Olofmeister. Whether it was a pick or an entry frag, whatever was needed for the team to succeed in a situation, Olofmeister provided it.

As such, when it came time for Fnatic’s stand-in, Plessen and then Wenton, to play the game, no one was surprised that not only did both of them struggle mightily but that Fnatic as a team struggled as well. After all, Fnatic did not have the tactical genius of a Starix or Fallen to fall back on -- their system lived and died on the play of Olofmeister. Not only did the team struggle tactically, but key players on the Fnatic roster simply found themselves floundering in the ocean with no life jacket. A player like Krimz, renowned for his solid fundamentals and extreme levels of consistency, simply found himself consistently putting up poor performances.

Fnatic’s struggles in their time without Olofmeister did not solely manifest themselves in online play but also at LAN events. At ESL Pro League finals, the one LAN that Fnatic attended sans Olofmeister, Fnatic failed to make a dent against the competition, only managing to prevail in matches versus North American competition. For a time, it appeared that Fnatic were heading down a path towards ruin; however, Olofmeister came back and did what he is so famed for -- he bailed Fnatic out of a bad situation.

Return of the King

When Fnatic announced that Olofmeister was returning for week four of Eleague, the Counter Strike community fell into a state of ecstasy. After all, for the past two months the scene was in a state of deprivation, two of the best players in the world had fallen out of the limelight and had left a gaping hole at the top of the scene. However, despite the community’s ecstasy at the return of Olofmeister, there also existed a tinge of apprehension within the community; after all, Olofmeister was returning after two months of inaction -- it would not be surprising to see him struggle facing off vs. competition who had been battle tested over those two months.

Those fears turned out to be simply misguided; Olofmeister played like a man hell bent on wreaking destruction on those who bore the misfortune of crossing his path. Finishing his group with a 1.30 rating, despite a distinct lack of tier one competition within his group, it was safe to say that Olofmeister was back and ready to rumble.

New Challengers Await

While Olofmeister was gone the Counter Strike scene did not remain in a static state; new players and teams seized the opportunity and took the place of Olofmeister and Fnatic at the helm of the scene. Luminosity Gaming established themselves as the best team in the world, and Coldzera as the best player in the world in some people’s books.

These two months of the vanishing act allowed the scene to organically change and solidify itself into one full of immense levels of competition. Fnatic is not faced with an easy romp to the top of the scene, rather, they are faced with heavy levels of competition at each turn. Gamers 2, Luminosity, Astralis, Ninja’s in Pyjamas, and Natus Vincere are all teams that Fnatic will have to subdue in order to be recognized as the top dog. To complement the high levels of competition at the top of the scene is the depth of teams in the mid tier that are capable of upsetting those on top. Simply focusing on the teams at the tier one of competition will not be enough for Fnatic; as the scene’s mid-tier has also evolved into one of fierce competition, teams are constantly grasping at the ankles of the teams above them in hopes to drag them down to their level or even supplant them.

Gone are the times where Fnatic simply ripped through teams at the higher end of the scene. Now, each win will come after a grueling ordeal in a scene with some of the highest levels of competition to ever grace Counter Strike Global Offensive.

Conclusion

The king has returned, but he has returned to a realm completely unlike the one from which he exited. The task ahead is difficult; reclaiming the throne shall be no simple journey, as the nobles that have seized the throne are quite dangerous.

Be that as it may, Fnatic are no ordinary king, they are kings whose talents naturally drive the throne towards them. Blessed with one of the most potent rosters to ever touch this game, Fnatic possesses the armies to slay the rest of the challengers to the throne, all that matters is getting it done.