fnatic have continued to raise their level with each game that has passed since their initial loss to Power Gaming in the group stage. The Swedish team took all the key rounds to move past their Polish rivals AGAiN and now they have defeated Finland's PowerGaming in two maps also, leaving fnatic perfect in the playoffs.

The entire fnatic team played excellent Counter-Strike, some of their best of the year in big games, to outdo PowerGaming in every area of the series which mattered. The Swedes got the pistol rounds and the momentum rounds and anytime Power looked to have a winnable 2v2 or 3v3 it went fnatic's way. The stand-in aspect of this event, for them and their opponents, may take a little of the sheen off the title for some but this should still rank as one of the best fnatic performances of the year, at least the playoff part.

It is worth remembering that before the 2009 lineup there were titles and top placings on the fnatic resume. This final reminded everyone of how well the team can mesh their teamplay with any members they bring in, as well as get people onto the same page tactically. Whether fnatic looks the same as this lineup or its previous next year matters little right now as they have proven once again they are the best team in the world over the long haul.

WEM CS standings:
1st fnatic $22,500
2nd Power Gaming $7,500
3rd-4th AGAiN $5,000
3rd-4th TyLoo $5,000
5th-8th WeMade FOX $1,500
5th-8th Meet Your Makers swe $1,500
5th-8th TitaNs $1,500
5th-8th wNv Teamwork CN $1,500


Final match report

fnatic 16:8 Power Gaming (inferno 11:4 5:4)

First half

fnatic began by winning the terrorist pistol and then put up a run that was to be a sign of things to come for the Finns as the Swedish team went up 6:0. By the 7th round, Power's first, GeT_RiGhT had reached 11-1 on the scoreboard. In that round he turned a 1v3 into a 1v1 but lost to plastE to give the Finns a round. fnatic took the next two though as the 8th had f0rest and cArn contributing two kills each.

Two kills from naSu and ruuit took the 10th for Power but despite a 3v2 advantage in the 11th a f0rest nade made it to a 2v2 and threat finished off the last two Finns to put fnatic up 9:2. In the 12th threat was able to kill ruuit in a 1v1, despite having 9 hp, to lead his team to a lead which became 11:2 after Power's eco. Power looked to salvage something of the half by winning the last two, two kills from naSu and three from contE taking the 14th for them.

Second half

Two kills from cArn and GeT_RiGhT each saw fnatic take the pistol round, their second of the game, and they went up 2:0. In the 3rd PowerGaming bought AKs and took a win thanks to three kills from naSu and two from ruuit at the A site. fnatic prevented them from tying the half as f0rest and dsn got 2v2 with dsn killing both, the last in a 1v1. The next round fnatic reached map point. Power held them off for a short while, two rounds, but the Swedes hit the magic number of 16 and it was off to dust2 after a 10 minute break.


fnatic 16:10 Power Gaming (nuke 12:3 4:7)

First half

fnatic continued to dominate the pistol rounds, just as they had done against AGAiN, this time thanks to three from dsn as Power decided to push mid as CTs. In the 4th fnatic made it 4:0 thanks to three threat kills and two dsn as they hit A, the catwalk push would become a repeated theme for this side of the map. On the 7th two kills from naSu and two from ruuit, who then went to defuse, should have seen the round go to Power but the bomb exploded before the defuse with no kit could be completed and fnatic hit 7:0. Three kills from GeT_RiGhT in the 9th and then two coupled with two from threat saw fnatic reach 10:0 and PowerGaming start to reach very murky and dangerous waters.

As if to show how well the entire fnatic team was playing f0rest snatched a round out of oblivion as he killed four in the 12th, three of them in a 1v3 at B. Facing a 12:0 fnatic lead Power managed to claw back the last three to prevent an impossible task in the second half. On the 14th round tihOp's two kills, with the last being a USP kill, proved important to take the round at A. He continued to be the best player for Power in the half as he AWPed two entering the B bombsite through smoke and contE added two to send the game into the half at 12:3 for fnatic.

Second half

fnatic winning their fourth pistol round immediately set off alarms for everyone as with the Power deco/ecos the Swedes reached series point up 3:0 and 15:3 overall. Still, much like in the AGAiN game, the Swedes weren't going to race to the finish line but rather have to find the right moment to inch there as their opponents came roaring back. Power managed to win seven in a row to make the game 15:10 for fnatic but the Swedes got that inevitable last round and won WEM 2009.

Truly an excellent performance, even if Power were unable to make the game more competitive during the key rounds, as fnatic proved once again that their early form in tournaments is very different to their late form. This marks the sixth title of the year (IEM III Global, Kode5, ESWC Cheonan, e-Stars Seoul, IEM IV Dubai and WEM) for the Swedes who have put up one of the all time great years. Including their losses they reached eight finals during that run.

PowerGaming will be left to wonder what might have been had they won the coin toss, and thus been able to keep train in the rotation, or any of the pistol rounds. If ever they were going to win a tournament this seemed like their chance with its small field and their performance level prior to the finals as a whole. Their loss in the third map to the eventual gold medalists AGAiN at WCG must have been extremely hard to swallow but now they have seen another golden opportunity pass them by.

Lastly one must not forget threat. Here is a man who has seen so many of his ex-team-mates go on to big success and yet has always been left behind to rebuild and regroup for another run at the top tier. He finally got his chance at this tournament and despite having big shoes to fill was able to perform at a level where he was playing some of his best CS and helping one of the great teams win another title. Seems unlikely he could imagined he'd be having such a nice christmas at the beginning of 2009.


Videos from the match

Intro for the two teams:



tihOp wins 1v1:



fnatic win third pistol round:



fnatic win the last round of WEM:



cArn's press conference interview after winning: