For the Fnatic fans in the European League Championship crowd, it's almost as if Bora "Yellowstar" Kim was never gone -- just temporarily away. His pairing with Martin "Rekkles" Larsson helped the team score a 2-0 result, the third time such an event occurred this split (this time against Schalke 04), and things are looking bright for a squad that has yet to show its final form.

"We had 10 days of scrimmages before the start of the LCS, and I naturally felt that we synergized rather well," explained Yellowstar as he recalls his first days back at Fnatic. "The scrims went super well, but we obviously needed to find an identity. That will develop through time." Editor's Picks A tale of two teams: OG and Liquid

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It took Fnatic's emblematic support a lot less time to acclimatize to his surroundings as familiar faces welcomed him back with open arms, three months after he went on a North American League Championship adventure -- scoring a second-place result as a member of Team SoloMid. For some, it's a reminder of another experience in 2015, when Rekkles switched to Alliance for a short time.

Before his return, Fnatic changed supports twice since the beginning of the 2016 LCS spring split and struggled to find a set identity, unlike H2K Gaming and G2 Esports, two top teams with strong starts. Despite that, Fnatic prevailed against H2K in the spring split and finished third in Europe.

"Generally, when you undergo changes, it's to improve a team," stated Yellowstar. "I'm happy to see [Fnatic] again, and I think that we'll try to return to our best shape through effort. People usually expect a lot from us, and I hope we won't disappoint them."

The team he returned to underwent other changes, but the core -- Rekkles and Fabian "Febiven" Diepstraten -- remained intact. In addition, Fnatic counted two Korean players in the lineup, Gamsu and Spirit. That made the situation similar to his adaptation to his then-new teammates in 2015, Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon and Kim "ReignOver" Yeu-jin.

The challenge remains the same. As Yellowstar explained, "The process [of finding a team identity with Gamsu and Spirit] obviously involves using their assets to the maximum, [to] take advantage of what they excel at."

Fnatic won third place in the European League Championship Series Spring Split 2016. Provided by Riot Games

The loss against H2K Gaming allowed Fnatic to highlight issues in a way scrims wouldn't have, allowing the team to move closer to the ranking it seeks at the end of the split -- the top of Europe. "Everyone realized after our defeat against H2k that we needed to fix a lot of things, and it helped us in the end," Yellowstar said. "I wouldn't say that I'm happy we lost [last week], but it was a blessing in disguise."

"I think we were very predictable early on," he continued. "We didn't have a lot of preparation time. Most teams had a whole lot more time with the splits. As far as the drafts are concerned, we had some issues: there was a lack of clarity regarding the meta we wanted to play, but we adapt."

Adaptation is the key to Fnatic's hopes for a top finish. Under the coaching of Luis "Deilor" Sevilla Petit, the squad developed a calculated approach to risk-taking. As is customary of scrimmage-to-stage transitions, the team plays a less risky style onstage, but it still keeps that key point in mind.

"There's a huge difference between competition and high-stake games [and practice] because practice doesn't really reflect reality," Yellowstar pointed out. "I think that it's important to be unafraid, playing while respecting your opponents, but with a high level of aggressiveness. Always performing the first move gives us an edge."

Schalke 04 was on the receiving end of that philosophy. What a sight it was. Fnatic owed its 2W-0L record to two risky and highly rewarding plays, with a Baron Nashor steal by Spirit and a Dragon steal from Febiven. But game one was never close despite what the kill score indicated. The games featured different play-styles: game one was a matter of sieges and rotations, and game two was an all-out brawl.

It showed how much growth the squad underwent in a week.

"We're able to play different play-styles. For example, compared to last week, our draft was completely different, and so was our playstyle," Yellowstar stated. "I think we have a lot of things to improve, whether it involves communication, play-style, and more, [but] I don't worry much on that regard."