VINI shines as FURIA secure Cologne playoff spot over 100 Thieves

A narrow loss on Mirage and comfortable victories on Inferno and Vertigo resulted in a 2-1 win for FURIA, who advance to the playoffs of ESL One Cologne 2020 North America and eliminate 100 Thieves.

FURIA confirmed their dominance over their Australian counterparts in the Group A decider match with a third series victory this year. In their last meeting, which took place in June, 100 Thieves managed to win Inferno 16-4, but a Vinicius "⁠VINI⁠" Figueiredo-inspired FURIA got revenge on the map this time around, mauling their opponents 16-1. Mirage was a much more interesting affair, going the way of 100 Thieves 16-13, but there was nothing left in the tank for the decider, which ended 16-6 in favor of the Brazilians.

FURIA brought the heat from the start of Inferno, picking up the initial few rounds to make it 4-0. VINI secured an ace in the fifth and stopped Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage's 1v3 attemp to make it 7-0, putting the Australin side on the back foot. The streak continued as 100 Thieves were denied any inroads, they struggled to gain map control or breach sites, and when they got close, FURIA caught them off guard with flanks.

The Brazilians were dominant and gave away just one round for the half (14-1), seeing the map concluded 16-1 after another VINI highlight moment - a triple kill on A. With 28K-4D, 150.3 ADR, 100% KAST and a 2.57 rating, this was VINI's career-best map, continuing good form he has been showing over the past month, during which he averaged a 1.11 rating.

Seemingly unfazed by what happened on the first map, 100 Thieves started Mirage strongly, going up 6-2 following a second-round force-buy win. Sean "⁠Gratisfaction⁠" Kaiwai and Joakim "⁠jkaem⁠" Myrbostad were the main men behind their team's run to a 8-3 lead, but the Brazilians kept it together to end the half with a respectful 9-6 scoreline.

The gap was extended by Aaron "⁠AZR⁠" Ward and co. as they claimed the pistol and the first few T round (13-6), but FURIA rolled out a triple AWP to kick off their comeback on the defensive side. Henrique "⁠HEN1⁠" Teles's 1v1 clutch capped off a seven-round streak that equalized the score at 13-13, but Jay "⁠Liazz⁠" Tregillgas's 1v3 that followed broke FURIA's money and enabled 100 Thieves to close out the map, 16-13.

Vertigo, the decider, looked more like Inferno than Mirage, as FURIA cruised to an 9-0 lead as Terrorist shortly. 100 Thieves put the end to the streak with a couple of good B site holds, but two 3v5 conversions ensured FURIA ended the half dominantly, 13-2. 100 Thieves delayed the inevitable by winning the first four on the offense, before FURIA closed out the map 16-7.