The Free Fire World Series (FFWS) 2022 Sentosa held its grand finals last Saturday, 21 May.

FFWS is Garena Free Fire's most iconic tournament, where teams from around the globe gather at Singapore's southern island to compete for the coveted World Series title. This year's tournament marks the most ambitious installment of FFWS yet, where 18 teams across 11 regions competed for a slice of the US$2,000,000 prize pool.

10 teams competed in the Play-Ins on 14 May, and four of them advanced to the finals, joining 8 other previously seeded teams. The 12 teams battled over six rounds and Thailand's Attack All Around emerged victorious.

Ahead of the tournament finals, Bandwagon caught up with the members of Thailand's EVOS Phoenix, as well as the Indonesian team EVOS Divine to talk about their thoughts on representing their respective countries in the World Series, as well as words of advice for future professional e-sports players.

EVOS Phoenix (Thailand)

What is it like coming back to FFWS 2022 as the reigning champions? Are you guys facing any kind of pressure this time around, especially now that you have a title to defend?

EVOS Phoenix: It is our honour to be back as defending champions. With other teams eyeing for our spot, there is definitely pressure to perform well. However, we are encouraged by our achievements last year and hope to set even higher standards this year.

There have been some changes to the team’s lineup since FFWS 2021, what is the team synergy like now?

EP: As a team, we are constantly learning from one another, even through mistakes. The team’s lineup might have changed, but the strategies and gameplans still remain.

How do you get ready for a match? Do you have any pre-tournament rituals?

EP: We learn from other teams in terms of how they play and do get ample rest before the tournament. Support from our fans is also a huge motivation for us.

Which team are you most eager to face in this year’s finals?

EP: LOUD - they came in second for last year’s FFWS and appear to have become a stronger team now.

What’s the most exciting part about playing at an international tournament like FFWS, and how does it compare to a local tournament from Thailand?

EP: It is exciting and an honour to be competing against the best teams globally.

What is one thing that people misunderstand the most about professional gamers?

EP: The most common misconception is that it requires talent to become a professional gamer. But really, it’s only a part of it. It requires many other elements such as hard work, a professional mindset and being goal-oriented.

Do you have any words of advice for people who want to be professional gamers like you?

EP: You need dedication. Being a professional gamer is a lot of hard work. You need to have the discipline to train - both playing the game, learning from and with teammates, and also working with our coaches and learning from them.

What is the first thing you guys would do with the cash prize if you win?

EP: We will buy a gift for ourselves and give the rest of the cash prize to our family.

If you had to choose a battle entrance song for your team what song would it be and why?

EP: ‘เสยี ววนิ าที’ (The split-second) by Bodyslam. We relate to the lyrics "We’ll make legend today. Leave it as long as you can," and it motivates us to do well in the tournament.

EVOS Divine (Indonesia)

What was it like training and practising for this tournament? Are there any new strategies or tactics the team is bringing to the stage this time around?

EVOS Divine: Of course, it’s different from the other tournaments. There’s definitely more pressure this year and in terms of our strategy, it definitely will be different since this is a global scale tournament.

You guys previously clinched the champion title at Free Fire World Cup 2019. What are your goals and expectations this time around coming to FFWS 2022?

ED: It’s just a champion title. Hopefully, we have the honour to win this year’s FFWS 2022 Sentosa.

How do you get ready for a match? Do you have any pre-tournament rituals?

ED: No, we don’t have a set pre-tournament ritual as a team. But individuals definitely have their own set of preparations before the match.

Which team are you most eager to face in this year’s finals?

ED: We are eager to face all the teams participating in FFWS, and hopefully can emerge as champions this year. We hope to show the world that we can bring the FFWS 2022 Sentosa trophy back to Indonesia.

What’s the most exciting part about playing at an international tournament like FFWS, and how does it compare to a local tournament from Indonesia?

ED: It would definitely be playing against the opponents as the teams are coming from all over the world. Our strategy and gameplay are totally different seeing that this competition is on a global scale.

What is one thing that people misunderstand the most about professional gamers?

ED: People tend to think that professional players only live to play games. However, e-sports athletes are the same as any other sports athletes. We have training schedules and physical training as well.

Do you have any words of advice for people who want to be professional gamers like you?

ED: Don’t give up on what you want and pursue your dreams. Work hard and you will be the next e-sports athlete!

What is the first thing you guys would do with the cash prize if you win?

ED: We hope to repair our homes and buy a new house. But one thing that I really want to do is to pay for my parents’ pilgrimage.

If you had to choose a battle entrance song for your team what song would it be and why?

ED: We will choose our national anthem or an Indonesian Hari Raya song as our battle entrance song. We want to make our country proud.

Rewatch the highlights of FFWS 2022 Sentosa here.