Fnatic will face their toughest opponents of the tournament in the first semifinal of ESL One Katowice.
But the Swedish side are fully prepared for the massive support Virtus.Pro will have and one particular player in Virtus.Pro
– I’ve been focusing on scouting Snax to see where he is and how he rotates, Markus ”pronax” Wallsten tells Aftonbladet Esport.

Fnatic have dominated every team they have faced in ESL One Katowice. Strolling through the playoffs, and easily dispersing of PENTA Esports the Swedish side now face their toughest opponent yet, Virtus.Pro, and the home crowd in Poland.
– I’d rather have the audience against me than not having any crowd at all. It is way more fun to play when people are screaming and cheering even if they are against you, Markus ”pronax” Wallsten tells Aftonbladet Esport.

Is the preparation a part of the entire mind game? Because VP have to know that you are checking them out and in the mean time you know they are scouting you?
– Definitely. But I don’t think they know what we are looking for. I don’t look at demos the way other players do, and at the same time I’m not alone either. Jonatan ”Devilwalk” Lundberg also go through the downloads in order to get a different perspective on stuff. In the end we gather a lot of information before a game like this.

”It is important to have fun”

Can it be too much information?
– It can be. But thats when Devilwalk steps in. If we stall in the game and lose four rounds in a row, he can come with input how to switch up stuff and give me some new ideas.

In the quarterfinals against PENTA Esports the audience could hear a cheerful, yet focused, Swedish teams. According to pronax it is important that the players have fun while playing, and there’s a reason for that.
– I believe it is important to have fun because that can relieve some of the stress and pressure during the game.

How will it be to face the home town favorite on the big stage?
– We’ve never had the support of the crowd. If we face NiP in Sweden the audience always cheer for them. So we’re used to the situation.