Alfajer: “I have around 1,000 Jett ranked games”

One of Fnatic’s best performers so far during EMEA Kickoff, Emir “Alfajer” Beder was on fire once again as he helped his side stave off elimination with a 2-0 win over Gentle Mates. The series started in dominant fashion with Fnatic taking an 11-0 lead in the opening map, with Alfajer playing his first Jett game for the side. A second map proved less one-sided but still saw the side close it out with little difficulty. We spoke to Alfa to get his thoughts on the win and look ahead to their next do-or-die series with FUT Esports.

Hotspawn: Where did that Jett pick come from?

Alfajer: There’s a lot of teams, on Abyss, that play Jett-Yoru, and I think it suits us. And I tell the coach, like: “We have to play Jett-Yoru I think because it’s going to suit us”. And they all agreed with me and we just decided to play Jett-Yoru and it was good.

Did you feel extra confident to play it after having such a great performance against NAVI?

Nah, the NAVI game didn’t affect me at all. I was already confident about Jett because I have like around 1,000 Jett ranked [games]. So I just I’m confident on Jett.

Why do you think Fnatic started map one so dominantly, winning the first 11 rounds?

I think they [Gentle Mates] were playing weak A, and we just went A every single round until they do something, and they never did something on A. So we just won rounds.

What were the reactions like to Boaster’s 1v2 clutch?

It was so nice. It was like it was 11-11 and we took the 12th-round clutch. Everyone was like;1 “Nice, let’s go boys”. It was good energy.

Did he realize he was still deathless at that point as well?

Yeah, yeah. He was like: “Oh, I don’t want to die. Should I just jump off the map so I don’t die?” And I was like; “What do you say, bro? Just play bro”.

How are you feeling about going up against FUT tomorrow?

I don’t want to say they’re readable, but I think they are a little bit readable. And if we can read how they play, I think we can win against them. Also, if BBL wins..

We have to take our revenge after FUT.

That’s what you’re hoping for then?

Yeah. I just, I can’t wait to play against BBL again.

I wanted to ask about Fnatic’s roster changes. Obviously Derke leaving is a massive loss. Have you felt the need to pull out these stellar performances — in part — to fill that gap?

I think kajaak is a really talented player. When he came to the team, he just needed to little bit more confidence. He has the confidence right now and he’s showing all of Europe, and maybe even world, that he’s a really good player. He was farming the last two matches.

What have the arrivals of kajaak and crashies been like outside of the game?

I think kajaak and crashies are more fun, I would say. I mean, I had fun with my old teammates as well. But Kayak is fresh, he’s knew, so he’s always fun. I think the most different thing is fun. Yeah, it’s just fun.

Who do you think are the best-looking teams in EMEA right now? Heretics have perhaps looked a bit shakier than expected, and Vitality look to be very good.

I think Vitality wins that game [versus Heretics] because I believe that if you have a really good year, you have to change your roster. At least one player, you have to change, because you can’t keep it the same. I’m not going to say that you can’t do anything, but in the past, whoever did one really good year and didn’t change players – the next year they didn’t do anything. It’s always the same. 

I think Vitality wins the upper final, and if we win against FUT, and if we beat BBL or TL, I think we’re going to play against Heretics. And in history, Heretics didn’t beat us anytime in BO5. I think it’s going to be BO5 and we didn’t lose any time against Heretics BO5. I think we’re gonna win if we go lower final.

I know it’s early yet, but are there any teams from other regions that you’ve got your eyes on ahead of potentially reaching Masters Bangkok?

I think G2 looks strong. EDG looks good, Trace also looks good, the two qualified teams. I didn’t watch all the regions to be honest, but in Europe, Vitality looks good. And that’s it, I think.

What are your thoughts on Tejo? As broken as everyone says?

I think it’s a really good agent, but you have to make a plan around him. I don’t think he’s that good if you don’t make a plan around him because you need to have a strat around his utilities, otherwise it’s just like a ranked hero.