Fnatic has fielded a world-class VALORANT roster that won two of 2023’s three VCT international tournaments, leaving all eyes on their 2024 run, and now less than a week after extending IGL Boaster’s contract, the organization has given another star their well-deserved dues.
The heavyweight VALORANT team announced on Feb. 22 that Emir “Alfajer” Beder’s contract has officially been extended until 2026. The star sentinel has been instrumental in stabilizing rounds and acting as the team’s anchor, able to pull more than double his weight in stats for almost all of his professional matches with Fnatic.
“One of my two top priorities this off-season was going to be extending him long-term,” team director Colin “CoJo’ Johnson said in a follow-up article after Alfajer’s extension announcement. “ I believe this long-term extension proves that there is that mutual trust and we look forward to achieving a lot of amazing things together over the coming three seasons.”
Alfajer first joined Fnatic on May 8, 2022, as part of a major roster rebuild before VALORANT Challengers Two, with the intention to train him for long-term success in the following VCT season. He was scouted from Surreal Esports by assistant coach mini and Cojo, with the org mostly interested in his flexibility as sentinel at just 16 years old.
Cojo and Fnatic’s investment would quickly pay off, as Alfajer’s debut campaign saw the young prodigy leading the entire region with the highest average combat score in the Stage Two Challengers group stage. Fnatic quickly translated this success with Alfajer to a domestic title, a fourth-place finish at Masters Copenhagen, and fifth-place at Champions 2022, cementing their spot as one of EMEA’s giants heading into the 2023 season.
Alfajer not only helped lead Fnatic win two out of the three international tournaments that year, but proved himself as one of the best sentinels across the entire 2023 VCT season, never falling below the top five in the individual player stat leaderboards for overall rating and kill/death ratios of the regular EMEA season, Masters Tokyo and even Champions.
Despite their VALORANT season ending with a fourth-place finish at Champions 2023, Fnatic felt confident in their roster, especially as one of the only teams worldwide to keep their entire lineup during the offseason. The org coaching staff’s previous comments showcase the complete faith and confidence in developing the star-studded roster, reinforced by the extension of Boaster’s contract to 2025, and now Alfajer’s to 2026.
Alfajer and Fnatic now look forward to the first event of VCT 2024: The EMEA Kickoff, where they face Team Vitality on Feb. 23 for a chance at playoffs and an opportunity to represent Europe at Masters Madrid, the first LAN event of the season.
