FURIA come into the Paris Major in a strange spot.
While an excellent performance at the last Major should give them some level of confidence, recent events have been less than stellar. A somewhat embarrassing loss to IHC and unconvincing qualification through Group B at ESL Pro League probably don’t fill the Brazilian fans with real expectations to win in Paris.
However, they did after all make it to the semis in Rio, and it wasn’t the fans on the stage playing the game. FURIA deserved their victory over NAVI - say what you like about that crowd, but it was FURIA who made them believe as much as the other way around.
"We had the X-Factor"
“I could feel that every single one of us felt different, like nothing negative could affect us as a team,” explained saffee to BLAST.tv. “We were on a flow that I find really hard to repeat. So I think to reach a step further for this Major we need to be on our A game on the server, will be all about how good we’re as a team on the server because we won’t have those X factors we had in Rio.”
“We had this X-Factor and it made a huge difference for us, mainly individually because instead of choking in front of the home crowd we actually embraced them like they embraced us,” he continued, which seems to suggest that he believes the tides have changed.
FURIA are no longer the team who might struggle to show their true level on stage, and having played in front of that crowd can only help them in the future.
“I think with these playoff runs the most important thing that we’ve learned is to be resilient as a team.
“So for this Major, I feel we matured a lot as a team and as individuals as well,” exclaimed the AWPer, suggesting he agrees with the point.
Part of what has kept FURIA at the top has been the red-hot form of KSCERATO, who has stopped being an elite rifler and became one of the best in the world. His composure in the inherent chaos that FURIA cause make him dangerous in every situation, and his innate sense of timing and reliable mechanics make him a late-round monster, much like the old king of Brazil, coldzera.
However, saffee doesn’t think it’s all down to KSCERATO, if FURIA are to go one step further.
“I think it’s important that he keeps going but the most important thing for our success is actually the team as a whole. Everybody needs to be on the same page in order to be a contender for a title, and that’s what we are focused on”.
"Interesting to see biguzera igling"
The Paris Major is going to be tough for FURIA, and re-adjusting to playing without the Brazilian crowd might cause a bit of a comedown - but it’s not impossible for them to go one step further.
While they have been on a downswing recently, FURIA are a notoriously up-and-down side; and a downswing is a prerequisite for an upswing.
They won’t be alone in the RMR, with quite a few other Brazilian teams, and to close we asked saffee on his thoughts on the rest of Brazil.
“I think we have some pretty good teams in SA, teams that have a lot of potential. Regarding the changes, I don’t really have an opinion about them, but I kinda took a deeper look at paiN’s news since I have friends there, I know those guys more than others, and it’s kinda interesting to see biguzera igling.
“From my time there he was always a really proactive guy that always had some insights into the server so yeah, I think it was a good call from them to bring Nekiz back and put bigu as an igl since PKL had to take a break”.