FNATIC dispatch FUT with a 2-0 victory

FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #3 crashies Austin Roberts Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder remain alive in their lower bracket run with a 2-0 over FUT Esports FUT Esports Europe Rank #7 xeus Doğan Gözgen MrFaliN Furkan Yeğen yetujey Eray Budak AtaKaptan Ata Tan cNed Mehmet Yağız İpek qRaxs Doğukan Balaban , eliminating the Turkish squad from Champions 2023. FNATIC will next play against either DRX DRX Korea Rank #4 Flashback Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) Athan Na Ha-jun (나하준) freeing No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) or Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses North America Rank #22 Derrek Derrek Ha NaturE Nicholas Garrison supamen Phat Le icy Jacob Lange yay Jaccob Whiteaker on Sunday.

With this exit, FUT cap off a year far exceeding community expectations, reaching playoffs in their third-ever international tournament appearance. On the other hand, FNATIC stay alive to fight for yet another international title and finish the year as the most successful organization in Valorant history.

Unfortunately for the EMEA region, this means that FNATIC remains their sole representative. They are also the only remaining opportunity to further increase their region's lead in terms of international trophies, which stand at five for EMEA and three for the Americas.

The match started with a resounding lead from FNATIC on their map, Split. FUT only managed to win two rounds on the defense, with Derke finding five first kills out of the eight initial engagements he participated in. Boaster put the cherry on top of the 10-2 half with his own quadruple kill on round 12. After that, FNATIC took the second pistol round and finalized the map 13-5.

qw1 was shut down expertly by FNATIC, with Alfajer in particular winning all nine of their battles against each other. qw1's aggression found little success, since he died first six times and didn't get a single first kill.

This trend continued on Haven, where, despite FUT taking the lead in the first half of the map, qw1 won neither of the opening fights he took. Once again, it was Alfajer who shut him down, finding six eliminations and only dying three times to him.

After equalizing the scoreline in the second half, FUT only managed to win another two rounds, ultimately dropping their map pick 13-9 and being sent home.

It must be said that Alfajer was having a stellar series in general, not just shutting down the entries. His 1.62 rating, 303 ACS, and 45 eliminations helped maintain his lead as the highest rated player of the tournament.

“We're playing a team game and they're coming to my side,” Alfajer said. “That's why I'm finishing MVP, I think.”

This victory marks a pivotal point for FNATIC in their pursuit of success. In Champions 2021, FNATIC left the tournament in the first round of the playoffs, while Istanbul saw them fail to reach the top four.

They are once again in a similar position, and they can no longer afford to lose a match. This year, however, the team feels more confident and with less pressure.

“We still have all the chances to win the tournament,” Chronicle said. Likewise, Derke didn't seem worried. “I think it's more pressure for other teams to be in the lower bracket with us,” he said.