Survivors 4AM - The story of an underdog that topped the League Stage of FFIC 2021 Spring

At the start of 2021, if somebody told you that a relatively new team was about to enter India’s biggest Free Fire tournament and set the stage on fire, you probably wouldn't have believed it. That being said, they probably wouldn’t have expected this as well. But here they are, Survivors 4AM, the underdog story that we all deserve and have been waiting for. 

It all started a few months ago when the gang got together. Xmania being a popular content creator had his share of creating entertaining content to watch. It was about time that he took up the game he loved so much seriously and tried to get into the competitive side of things. He teamed up with strong players like Golden, Ignite, and Harsh to begin grinding for the game. And before you know it, they are competing in the league stage. 

It has been a fascinating journey so far, but we haven’t reached the climax of the story yet. That is something that we will get to witness during the finals of the FFIC 2021 Spring. For now, let’s take a look at how the team managed to go toe-to-toe against some of the best teams in the country.

The Boa Constrictor

Some of nature's greatest predators aren’t mighty lions or ferocious tigers. The sneaky slithering snakes are deadlier, and Survivors 4AM. They’ll sneak in close without you noticing. They’ll slither and surround you, and before you know it, you’re trapped and they’re about to strike. Just like a Boa Constrictor, that circles its prey and wraps itself around them, slowly squeezing the life out of them. Survivors 4AM also adapt something similar whenever they are fighting against a team. They have most of their players try to flank them by circling around, even if it takes a long time. While the designated flanker is repositioning, the rest of the team tries to keep the opponent engaged. Once the trap is set, they chip away at their enemies from all sides. There is no escape. 

This approach might be great for fighting against a squad. But will the snake survive if all the wild animals attack it at once? Will it work in a chaotic cluster fight where multiple squads are engaged in a messy war. For that, they have their ace in the hole - Xmania

The Disruptor - Xmania

Sometimes the zone pits together so many teams in a tiny area that there’s barely any space to breathe, let alone fight. We saw several such instances in urban battle zones like Clock Tower in Bermuda and Bayfront or Refinery in Kalahari that had more than 5 squads in a circle that was barely 50m wide. There can be no guarantee of a win in such situations. There are too much uncertainty and chaos for anyone to determine what the best course of action would be. Luckily for Survivors 4AM, they accept and embrace this chaos. They may or may not make the best decisions, but they always have an insurance policy in the form of Xmania. This insurance policy is less for securing oneself, but more like a disruption policy for the enemies. He isn’t afraid of making risky, bold maneuvers. Outrageous decisions like tanking zone damage to attack the enemies from beyond the safe zone, rushing into enemy Time-Turners, or kamikaze bombardments, you name it, he’s done it. If you can’t get yourself an advantage, then make sure the enemy doesn’t have it either, that’s the philosophy that Xmania believes in. His disruptive playstyle can throw a spanner in the works of his opponents.

The Fortress

There are teams like Total Gaming and Sixth Sense who have proven over many games that they are pretty good at predicting the movements of the zone. Survivors 4AM haven’t really displayed such an exemplary level of prediction yet, but sometimes the zone does favour them. In those few rare instances where their position is gifted by the gods, they do very well to defend it. No amount of gunshots or rushes can dislodge them. A barrage of grenades might just scatter them, but never fully finish them off. 

If they get the advantage of being the only team in the last circle, they will spread out and occupy the extremities of the circle so that the others don’t get even an inch of space to stand on. They create a ring of fire that keeps on damaging everything outside it. This strategy does get the job done but requires a very high level of skill. This is because it relies heavily on an individual’s ability to keep dishing out damage. If one falls, then the entire ring collapses. It’s all or nothing. 

So far, these are some of the things our casters noticed about the new hottest contender for the throne - Survivors 4AM. Now that they have qualified for the Grand Finals, they can rest easy knowing that they wouldn’t have to fight in the grueling Play-Ins. However, the preparations for the Grand FInals won’t be easy. Their strengths and weaknesses are out for the world to see. They must bolster up their strengths and minimize weaknesses, iron out the kinks and work to create a flawless plan to win the finals. Will they be able to lift the trophy? 

Find out in the Free Fire India Championship Grand Finals on 21st March 2021 at 6 PM IST on Free Fire Esports India Youtube channel.