The FunSpark ULTI 2021 Finals tournament starts tomorrow, where eight teams will compete for a $250,000 prize pool. In the quarterfinals, there will be an interesting matchup between Fnatic and BIG Clan. Fnatic received a direct invitation to the championship, while BIG won the FunSpark ULTI 2020 Europe Final and thus qualified for the tournament. We’ve prepared a prediction for the game.
Fnatic
For the Swedish organization, last year was spent trying to find the optimal lineup. Veterans were benched, and rookies got their chance in major tournaments. There were no results until they decided to build the team around their two strongest players – KRIMZ and Brollan. They brought in the experienced captain ALEX, the skilled sniper smooya, and a solid rifler from Britain known as mezii. The results came quickly – 12 straight wins and two tournaments secured. Only Gambit’s team managed to stop Fnatic.
BIG Clan
The German organization didn’t make major roster changes, only swapping XANTARES for gade in the middle of last year. The Dane spoke German but couldn’t fully realize his potential. Eventually, they replaced him with Joseph ‘faveN’ Bauman from Kazakhstan. Before that, faveN played for Sprout, where he delivered excellent results and was the standout player. Besides winning the FunSpark tournament, Berlin International Gaming finished third at DreamHack Open January and took the Gamers Without Borders charity event.
Statistics and Prediction
BIG’s win rate over the last three months is just 38%, while Fnatic’s is the complete opposite at 87.5%. The level of opponents was roughly the same for both teams. The teams have faced each other three times in the last six months, with all victories going to the Swedish organization.
Bookmakers believe Fnatic will come out on top again, with odds of 1.46 for their win. For the German team’s victory, the odds are 2.6. BIG has had issues with firepower, as k1to, gade, and tiziaN haven’t been performing up to par. With faveN’s arrival, things might improve slightly, but it’s unlikely to be enough to beat Fnatic. If things don’t click, k1to is the prime candidate to underperform.
Fnatic isn’t perfect either; there might be some communication issues. Some maps feel unpolished, meaning they’re not fully practiced. However, Fnatic currently looks stronger than BIG and has a broader map pool. They could pick Ancient, Overpass, or Nuke as their choice.
On BIG’s side, the roster is well-coordinated, and the new coach and player could bring fresh ideas to turn the match around. FaveN isn’t a novice; he’s an experienced player with a rating of 1.10 against top-5 teams worldwide. He deals significant average damage per round and makes a big impact.
Both BO-3 series between these teams went over the total, with matches decided in overtime. I expect something similar this time.
