Image
Credit: PGL



Furia has been one of the welcome surprises in the first months of the 2022 season. The Brazilian powerhouse seems to be back on top, after a year of struggling to find the right pieces to fit the puzzle.

Ahead of their BLAST Showdown campaign, we sat down with yuurih to discuss how the team is feeling about their performance.

“We’ve had some good tournaments, the RMR and EPL, and are still practicing a lot. We’ve only been together for three months, so we still need time to figure things out in the game. Some positions and understanding each other. But we are doing our best.”

Finding the right players

Image: PGL

After adding AWPer Rafael “saffee” Costa in the off-season, Furia have once again entered the top 10 rankings, something the team struggled with last year. yuurih puts last year’s performances down to not finding the right players.

“In 2021, we had some problems with finding the right players. We’ve now found them, with drop and saffee,” he says about the lastest additions to the roster. “In the first months, we’ve been doing a very good job, and are very happy with them. I thought we would need more time to get to where we are now.”

When asked how saffee is slotting into the roster, he says that “He (saffee) is very similar to able (Rinaldo “ableJ” Moda JĂşnior), who was with us in 2019. He even looks like him. He’s a very calm guy, good to have as a teammate.”

The best in the Americas

Image: ESL

“I guess that now, we are the better team. But they need more time.” yuurih is very clear about the discussion between players from Liquid and Complexity about being the best NA roster.

“I saw some things about this on Twitter, yeah. Junior said something. I think Liquid is the better team, they have a great lineup. I just think they need more time.”

A potential matchup against Liquid waits in the final of the Showdown, something yuurih looks forward to.

“We haven’t played Liquid in a long time. So that’s why we want to play them.”

Facing Complexity worries him less: “We played against Complexity recently and didn’t run into any problems.”

The label of onliners

Image: BLAST

Furia’s recent strong run at the RMR and the ESL Pro League is especially significant as they were labeled as onliners by the community for a long time.

“Everyone has been saying that we are better online. In the past two events on LAN, we were able to show that we are also strong there. Look at the stats, everyone has played very well.”

At the Showdown, Furia has the chance to secure another spot at a LAN event. And one in Portugal no less, where support for a Brazilian team must be among the highest.

“BLAST has always been a tournament where we really wanted to play. We have prepared really well for this, to secure a spot. Let’s see.”

While Josse van Dessel covers a variety of topics ranging from FIFA esports competitions to professional chess matches, his greatest emphasis is on the world of Counter-Strike, where he covers the title's biggest events and its latest roster moves. Josse also covers local market news in his native Netherlands.