The Turkish star arrived at 16 and left with two international trophies, and his exit takes Fnatic’s 2027 rebuild down to two players.
Fnatic have confirmed that Emir “Alfajer” Ali Beder is leaving the organisation after four and a half years. The club announced his exit on X on Thursday afternoon, a day after Austin “crashies” Roberts left, and kaajak and Cloud are now the only active players on the roster.
“You leave a champion, an icon, a friend and forever part of this family,” Fnatic wrote. Alfajer answered 35 minutes later with his own farewell, in which he also thanked Fnatic’s senior team director Colin “CoJo” Johnson:
I started this adventure at the age of 16, and now I am 21 years old. I am not usually a person who can write very emotional messages, but I would like to thank Fnatic for who they helped me become.
From Surreal to Masters champion
Alfajer joined Fnatic from the Turkish side Surreal Esports on 9 May 2022, a month before his 17th birthday. At Champions Istanbul that year, Fnatic finished fifth to sixth after a fourth place at Masters Copenhagen.
His breakthrough came in 2023, the first year of the partnership era. Fnatic beat LOUD 3-2 in the LOCK//IN São Paulo final and then swept Evil Geniuses 3-0 to win Masters Tokyo. Alfajer finished Tokyo with a 1.33 rating on VLR.gg, the highest of any player at the event.
| Date | Event | Placing | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Mar 2023 | LOCK//IN São Paulo | 1st | 3-2 vs  LOUD |
| 25 Jun 2023 | Masters Tokyo | 1st | 3-0 vs  Evil Geniuses |
| 12 May 2024 | VCT EMEA Stage 1 | 1st | 3-2 vs  Heretics |
| 20 Jul 2024 | VCT EMEA Stage 2 | 1st | 3-1 vs  Vitality |
| 18 May 2025 | VCT EMEA Stage 1 | 1st | 3-0 vs Heretics |
| 22 Jun 2025 | Masters Toronto | 2nd | 1-3 vs  Paper Rex |
| 13 Jul 2025 | Esports World Cup | 2nd | 2-3 vs Heretics |
| 5 Oct 2025 | VALORANT Champions Paris | 2nd | 2-3 vs  NRG |
The 2025 run ended one map short of the biggest trophy in the game. Fnatic lost the grand final 2-3 to NRG.
A first year without a LAN
2026 brought the opposite. Fnatic finished fourth at EMEA Kickoff, fifth to sixth in Stage 1 and went out in the Stage 2 Play-Ins. It was the first season since Alfajer joined in which Fnatic did not play a single international event.
The clear-out started soon after. In-game leader Jake “Boaster” Howlett was moved to the inactive roster on 8 September with permission to look for a new team, and he is still listed there. Head coach Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov left the next day. Sylvain “Veqaj” Pattyn, inactive since April, left on 29 October, and as we reported on Wednesday, assistant coach Casper “Desmo” Rasmussen, performance coach Philipp “Szed” Schickor and crashies followed this week. crashies is set to join T1, as we covered after Sheep Esports’ report.
Alfajer may not be far from Boaster in 2027. On 30 October, Sheep Esports reported that Boaster has a verbal agreement with Gentle Mates and that the French club’s new lineup is set to include Alfajer as well. Neither Alfajer nor Gentle Mates has confirmed the move.
Two players, no head coach
Fnatic’s active roster now looks like this:
| Player | Name | Joined |
|---|---|---|
 kaajak | Kajetan Haremski | 31 Oct 2024 |
 Cloud | Kirill Nekhozhin | 17 Jun 2026 |
Of the five players who started 2026, only kaajak is still active. Fnatic were confirmed as a VCT EMEA partner team for 2027 and 2028 on 21 October, so their league place is safe, but they need three more players and a new coaching staff before Kickoff.
