On Saturday, Fnatic debuted their two new players Enzo “Enzo” Mestari and Emir “Alfajer” Ali Beder in their first match of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region’s VALORANT Champions Tour Stage 2 Challengers season against FunPlus Phoenix and won 2-1.
Just getting started. GG'S @FPX_Esports. #FNCWIN pic.twitter.com/En4pKLrjZc
— FNATIC (@FNATIC) May 14, 2022
Fnatic show off their deadly new roster against FunPlus Phoenix
Fnatic’s in-game leader Jake “Boaster” Howlett got the honor of introducing the world to the team’s newest additions on May 9. Less than a week later, the pair of Enzo and Alfajer got to prove themselves in their first match with their new team, and they did so in a big way.
GIGACHAD VALORANT ANNOUNCEMENT OF A CENTURY
TIME TO ROLL EMEA EZ CLAP 😩 💯💯💯 #POG pic.twitter.com/QQ5qHE7sQ1
— FNATIC (@FNATIC) May 9, 2022
The first map of the Fnatic vs. FPX match was Fracture. This map has come to be known as Fnatic’s playground, and they proved that to be true yet again on Saturday, wiping the floor with FPX 13-3. The new members seemed to slot in perfectly and it didn’t look like anyone on Fnatic even broke a sweat.
On map two, Ascent, FPX managed to turn things around, but Fnatic’s newbies still had their moments. Alfajer, in particular, stood out during this game. The young Turkish player showed off tremendous skill, capturing an Ace on a map Fnatic still ultimately lost 13-5. Enzo, meanwhile, made his mark by playing Fade on map two, which was shockingly matched by FunPlus Phoenix’s Andrey “Shao” Kiprsky also choosing the new agent for a double-Fade face-off.
HE'S A MONSTER @Alfajervl 🔥 pic.twitter.com/yUqboLJSTX
— FNATIC (@FNATIC) May 14, 2022
The match ultimately came down to Icebox, where Fnatic once again came out on top. Things were more evenly paced this time, with the two squads trading rounds pretty consistently in the first half. But as the second half progress, Fnatic were able to steal away the momentum and keep it. They finally shut FPX out of the win 13-10, taking their first VCT match as a roster. Though this is just the first of many games in their VCT Challengers Stage 2 run, Fnatic have shown that their new squad are ready to give their competitors a run for their money.
