Fnatic is a name that is held in extremely high esteem in all esports. The organisation has enjoyed immense success and built a lot of its following from its immensely successful Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) team, and has seen a lot of success in League of Legends (LoL) as well. As such, while their signing of the ex-Mindfreak Rainbow Six: Siege roster earlier this year was a surprise, the serial success of the squad has proven its worth.
This team has been around for a long time, most notably making its mark at the 2017 Six Invitational as Mindfreak alongside Team Envy (now Aerowolf), although Mindfreak played on the Xbox back then. While their performance was uninspiring, it clearly left a lasting impression on the Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) region that has seen it grow to its current heights. Of that roster, only Acez remains as an active player on the current Fnatic team, with Dizzle now the coach.
After the introduction of the Pro League in Asia-Pacific (APAC), viewers got a look at the fresh new team with Magnet, Acez, Lusty, Kngz, and Pun. However, the team could only win their first game against an unimpressive NORA-Rengo, and was soundly beaten 10-1 by mantisFPS in the Semi Finals.
Magnet and his team (then under Mindfreak) at the 2018 Six Invitational
Swapping out Pun for RizRaz seemingly sparked an incredible fire in the team, however, and within two months, it was clear that Mindfreak was the best team in APAC. Qualifying to the 2018 Six Invitational, they made history as the first APAC team to win a game against at an international LAN event, and made it as far as the Quarter Finals on the main stage.
Returning home, their dominance continued as they beat ViewSonic.DarkSided 15-1 in the ANZ Cup Grand Final. Following that, they qualified for their first-ever Pro League Finals after finishing 1st in ANZ, and beating Sengoku Gaming Extasy 10-0 at the APAC LAN. While they were unable to win their rematch against Team Liquid, they put their heads down and pushed on in preparation for the Six Major Paris. This time they were unable to repeat their feat from the Invitational though, and only won a single game in the group stages.
Furthermore, this season, their dominance in ANZ was challenged by Athletico Esports. The favourites, Fnatic, were not only beaten to first place in the regular Pro League, but also lost to Athletico in the seeding match for the Tokyo APAC LAN. This means that the team will now face Sengoku Gaming once again in the Quarter Finals, and if successful, will face off against either Xavier Esports or mantisFPS to book their berth at the Pro League Finals in Rio de Janeiro. However, despite being seeded second from ANZ, underestimating Fnatic will be a death knell for their oppoonents' Rio dreams.
We had a chat with team captain, Etienne “Magnet” Rousseau about his team’s performance this season, and their expectations from the Tokyo event.
(The interview responses have been lightly edited for grammar.)
All of your team has been around the competitive scene for a very long time, with Acez (and your coach Dizzle) being the remnants of the very original Mindfreak Xbox squad. What are each of your histories in competitive Siege?
What is the least glamorous part about being a professional Rainbow Six player?
Your roster signed with Fnatic prior to the Season 7 APAC LAN Finals after having spent a long time with Mindfreak. How have things changed for you with the new organisation?
The ANZ subregion has one of the healthiest domestic competitive scenes, and has been growing steadily? While growth is always good, as someone deeply embedded in the scene, what are some hazards that are present with such growth (if any)?
Your team has seen one of the most meteoric rises in quality, as seen in your quantum performance leap from Season 6 to the 2018 Invitational, and continual improvements until now. What has been the secret to this success?
Fnatic at the Six Major Paris
What are your team’s immediate and long-term goals? A Pro League Finals Semi-Final appearance, or something as big as a Major victory?
This season, despite being favourites, your side finished 2nd in the regular online season (with 3 draws and a loss) and lost 0-2 to Athletico in the playoffs. What were the issues that caused you to miss targets you were perhaps expected to meet?
Despite that, your team are still arguably one of two favourites to qualify to the Pro League Finals in Rio. How do you deal with the mental pressure that is no doubt present, in addition to people commenting on your performance online, in esports media (like us!), in casts, etc?
Is there anything you would like to share with your fans, and to the international audience that will read this?
The Fnatic roster is:
Etienne “Magnet” Rousseau (Captain)
Jason “Lusty” Chen
Matthew “Acez” McHenry
Ethan “RizRaz” Wombwell
Daniel “NeophyteR” An
Jayden “Dizzle” Saunders (Coach)
Catch all the APAC LAN action from Tokyo, Japan, on the 13th and 14th of October from 9:45 AM GMT+9 onwards at twitch.tv/Rainbow6.