Interview with Emir "Alfajer" Beder, Fnatic Pro Player

Yoann: Hey, hello everyone! Today, I'm with FNATIC Alfajer, he’s their sentinel player and is Masters Tokyo’s MVP!

How are you, and how did you get into esports? 

Alfajer: Hello! I am good because I am the MVP of the last tournament, but we haven’t finished yet, we still have one tournament to play, Champions!

I got into esports three years ago, I was playing Valorant with a 60Hz monitor, at first I just wanted to be a streamer, but when my brother saw my performance in game, he bought me a PC so I could improve and start my career. 

Yoann: Wow that’s awesome! Before joining Fnatic, you played for Surreal Esports, what did you learn from this experience? 

Alfajer: It was my first team in esports, but my coach had a lot of experience. His name is Afr0nfire. And he showed and taught me so many things. I learned how to communicate and play as a team.

Yoann: After winning two titles back to back with Fnatic, do you think this roster is the best that ever existed on Valorant? 

Alfajer: Not now, maybe if we win Champions, with all three trophies from Lock//In, Masters, and Champions. After that, we will be able to say it!

Yoann: For sure! How would you describe the playstyle of Fnatic? 

Alfajer: We are just playing chill, with util and good communications. Every piece of utility is important, so we make sure to use it to its full potential. 

Sometimes we get angry because we have two Russian players and I'm Turkish, we can be hot-blooded! 

Yoann: How challenging was it for you to change country at 17 years old? 

Alfajer: It’s been fun because two or three years ago, I thought I would only travel in Turkey but now with Fnatic, I am traveling all over the world.

Yoann: You are now preparing for Champions. What are the main things you are trying to fix or improve in your gameplay? 

Alfajer: We have some communication problems sometimes, when we start losing, our mental is going down and our communication is going down too. It’s something we want to fix.

And we are also working on avoiding over-peeking!

Yoann: How confident are you heading into Champions? Knowing that every team will be anti-stratting you?

Alfajer: Every team is going to anti strat, but we changed the strats!

I'm confident because we won two times, and I just believe in our teammates. So why not, we can just win again!

Yoann: Of course, why not! You've been playing a lot of Cypher recently. Do you think people underestimate his value in pro play?

Alfajer: I think Cypher is the strongest sentinel right now. This is my idea because the ult only costs 6 points and if you use your traps well, you’ll get kills all the time. The enemies need to respect your setup and be careful.

Yoann: Yeah, that’s interesting. Maybe teams are not playing him because he's difficult to implement in a pro team?

Alfajer: Yeah, and I think they are not playing Cypher because of Killjoy’s ultimate. But it actually depends on who’s playing Cypher, nAts, for example, he’s a really good Cypher player and that’s why he plays him a lot.

I don’t play Cypher as much because I have a lot of experience with Killjoy, and I’m good with it.

It really depends on which agent is the best for you!

Yoann: Okay, personal preference, excellent! So let's now move on to the quick questions.

I will ask you ten quick questions, and you’ll have to answer as fast as possible.

Ready?

Alfajer: Yeah let’s go! 

Yoann: Phantom or Vandal? 

Alfajer: Vandal.

Yoann: Who was your idol growing up?

Alfajer: ScreaM!

Yoann: Who’s your favorite agent?

Alfajer: Jett!

Yoann: Interesting! How would you describe the Lock//In finals against Loud in a few words? 

Alfajer: Amazing, mad! 

Yoann: Haha yeah! What's your favorite skin bundle?

Alfajer: The Champions bundle!

Yoann: What's your favorite memory on Valorant? 

Alfajer: Winning the two Masters!

Yoann: Of course! What's the clutch or ace you are the proudest of?

Alfajer: In the Lock//In finals, the double kill clutch on Icebox around yellow. 

Yoann: Oh yeah, that was insane!

What's your favorite purchase in the pistol round?

Alfajer: The Ghost! 

Yoann: What's your favorite map?

Alfajer: Ascent!

Yoann: Can you quote a voice line from Jett, your favorite agent? 

Alfajer: "Bunu izle!" That means "Watch this" in Turkish!

Yoann: Awesome! Let's now go back to the standard questions. 

Apeks had a fabulous season in Tier 2. Do you think we could see these players in the VCT next year? 

Alfajer: Yes, sure! I was thinking about that two days ago, because Enzo is my best friend in esports, and I think with all the French teams, he could find a team. But actually, everyone is really good on Apeks, and I think we could see them in the next season! 

Yoann: That would be interesting to watch! What are your hobbies or passions aside from gaming? 

Alfajer: Listening to music and doing sports! 

Yoann: That’s nice! What's your preparation routine before a match? 

Alfajer: I’m practicing with 10 deathmatches!

Yoann: How do you feel about the Valorant meta currently? 

Alfajer: It’s bad! Because we don't have too many different compositions to play. I mean, they're just playing Killjoy or Killjoy, you don't have any choice.

Yoann: Yeah that’s right! What would you change to the game if you were a Valorant developer?

Alfajer: They need to nerf the run and gun!

Yoann: For sure! How do you feel about Deadlock, as a sentinel main? 

Alfajer: Bad. Because she feels like an initiator and a sentinel, I don’t like it.

Yoann: Yeah okay. Do you think we will see her in Champions? 

Alfajer: Yeah, I can't tell you that now, but I think different teams will try to play her, to try some unexpected stuff!

Yoann: That will be interesting to see! After winning Tokyo, you tweeted, “I won't settle just for this”. What keeps you motivated to keep on grinding? 

Alfajer: My age! I’m only 18 years old, and my future is very bright. I just want to keep going and keep going because when I’ll be 25 or 30 years old, I’ll go down, just like football!

I need to farm before I turn 30!

Yoann: Yeah, let's hope for a record! 

Is there anything else you would like to say to the fans, to your opponents? 

Alfajer: I just love fans, especially Japanese fans, they're really sweet! And to the other teams, I just want to say good luck to BBL. I hope they're going to win LCQ, because I want to see them in Champions. 

Yoann: Yeah! Especially now that EMEA has two extra spots for Champions, who do you see qualifying? 

Alfajer: I think NAVI for sure, and the second team is going to change. We don't know anything yet. They have been prepping for months now, new strats, new motivation. It’s going to be interesting!

Yoann: That’s for sure! Thank you so much for your time, and I wish you the best in L.A. for Champions next month!

Alfajer: Thank you!

Alfajer’s socials:

Twitter: @Alfajervl

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/Alfajer

Konect: https://www.konect.gg/Alfajer