The factor separating VALORANT’s best from the rest—but even Fnatic haven’t perfected it

Fnatic’s thrilling win over Evil Geniuses in VCT Masters Tokyo’s grand finals was delightful to watch. Seeing FNC lift their second international trophy in 2023, we, fans, were left starry-eyed, convinced that they’re the perfect team. But apparently, even the best in the world struggle with something VALORANT players on the ranked ladder face on a daily basis.

In an on-stage interview after the final event on June 25, Emir “Alfajer” Beder, when asked about FNC’s weakness, revealed how the two-time world champion team has been battling issues with
communication. He also revealed that the team has been “missing comms” when under pressure. 

“We are stressed sometimes, and that’s why we’re losing some rounds. I think our weakness is, like, fall down in the game and don’t do comm,” Alfajer said.

This is the second time Fnatic played Evil Geniuses, North America’s Cinderella team, the first face-off being in the playoffs stage.

Interestingly, Alfajer highlighted Fnatic’s communication issue in the Verizon post-match interview after their upper finals against EG on June 21 as well, saying that it’s causing them to stress out in certain situations.

“This [communication] is our weakness, all other things are perfect,” Alfajer said confidently.

The EMEA top dogs seemed invulnerable throughout VCT Masters Tokyo, crushing opponents with great strategies and discipline and recording their second unbeaten run of this year. But even the most successful VCT 2023 roster so far has had problems with relaying information among themselves, something you wouldn’t expect from a team that looks near perfect.

Equating Alfajer’s revelation with FNC’s performance against EG, the EMEA kings did struggle against EG’s quirky team composition on Bind. For a while, things were falling apart for FNC, as they had a hard time stopping the spike plant, despite the presence of a Cypher, a Viper, and a Brimstone.

In the first half, EG overwhelmed FNC’s discipline through aggression and unpredictable moves, and although FNC was in the series’ lead with two map wins in their pocket, it was disheartening to watch them fumble on Bind, one of their best VALORANT maps.

But like always, FNC unleashed their comeback magic in the second half, ending the match with a 14-12 scoreline and grabbing the best-of-five series in a straight 3-0.

Even though Alfajer and his teammates had to deal with communication gaps, a major issue to have at such a stage, the team came out strong, teaching us the importance of ‘giving accurate calls’ in our own matches.

Relaying intel about your opponents’ positioning or asking your teammate for support when you want to execute a plan is crucial in multiplayer games like VALORANT. Like FNC, working on communicating clearly and succinctly can be the difference maker for your competitive rank grind.

It’s easy to forget that humans aren’t mind readers; if you, as a duelist, need an initiator or controller to use their utilities for you, don’t hesitate to ask for it. Similarly, if you want to make an aggressive move or bait yourself for the greater good, let your team know, so that they can capitalize on your sacrifice. Communicating perfectly is an art, and probably the only key you are short of to get to Radiant.

Related: VALORANT’s ranked system explained

If you’re losing too many ranked matches and prefer solo queuing, it may be time for you to talk more. Urge your teammates to activate their microphones and share what’s happening from their perspective, instead of losing hope and playing the blame game if you’re down 3-9. After all, despite the differences, all VALORANT players have a common goal: win and get past this tiring elo.