- The team recovers from the big roster changes it had to do last month
- Enzo will play as an all-rounder, while Alfajer will bring in extra firepower
- The revamped roster will debut against FunPlus Phoenix at VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers
Fnatic has added Emir Ali “Alfajer” Beder and Enzo “Enzo” Mestari, completing their roster for the EMEA VCT Challengers Two.
Fnatic Signs Two New Players
Teams are preparing for VALORANT’s EMEA VCT Challengers Two, and this includes Fnatic who on Monday announced they are signing two new players. The two in question are Enzo “Enzo” Mestari, who formerly played for Surreal Esports, and Enzo “Enzo” Mestari, previously known as Fearoth. The two newcomers are joining Fnatic’s active roster consisting of in-game leader Jake “Boaster” Howlett, James “Mistic” Orfila, Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev and substitute Tom “otom” Hart.
Over the past month, Fnatc has had a multitude of problems with its VALORANT roster. First, the organization suspended Andrey “BraveAF” Gorchakov after messages surfaced of him allegedly showing support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Even before that the controversial player had visa issues that would have prevented him from attending the VALORANT Champions Tour Stage 1 Masters event in Reykjavík, Iceland. Speaking of that event, Derke tested positive for COVID-19 just before it, leaving the team without two players.
Later, Fnatic acquired Enzo and Joona “H1ber” Parviainen on loan from Alliance and KOI, respectively, but this roster composition didn’t fare well. Fnatic lost to Ninjas in Pyjamas and ZETA DIVISION without winning a single map, prompting the organization to bench BraveAF and Martin “Magnum” Peňkov.
Enzo and Alfajer’s New Roles in the Team
With so many roster changes, Fnatic needed some fresh blood in its roster, paving the way for signing Enzo into a more permanent role and adding Alfajer to the team. With these additions, there will be some role changes as well like Mistic transitioning into a flex role while Boaster takes on the controller role.
Enzo will be an all-rounder, bringing balance to the team. “His main strengths are in his support skills, both in and out of the game,” said head coach Jacob “Mini” Harris said in a statement on Fnatic’s website. “He is the rare kind that still manages to put up numbers whilst being the teammate you wish for.”
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Turkish “young gun” Alfajer will primarily provide extra firepower to the team. “We believe he is more than capable to be one of our star players, but we will be sure to ease him through that transition as he is such a young player,” commented Mini. “He has plenty of flexibility in his agent pool which bodes well for long-term success in Fnatic. We want to be able to adapt to the fast-paced meta changes we see in Valorant and we expect that direction to only continue.”
The revamped roster will make its debut at VCT Europe, Middle East and Africa Stage 2 Challengers when the event begins on Friday.
