FURIA, paiN set to clash for BLAST Spring Finals spot

The Brazilian teams will meet in the grand final of the North American Showdown after easing past their countrymen.

FURIA and paiN are set to face off on Sunday at 22:30 for a spot at the BLAST Premier Spring Finals after they secured semi-final victories in the North American Showdown on Saturday, coming out on top of domestic matchups against GODSENT and MIBR, respectively.

Neither team struggled in claiming their wins, with Andrei "⁠arT⁠" Piovezan's side hitting the ground running in their series with a dominant CT side performance on Overpass before claiming a win on Nuke to close things out. Similarly, paiN were in control for much of their series against MIBR, strong T side showings on both Vertigo and Dust2 helping lead the charge to a 2-0 sweep to confirm their own spot in the grand final.

FURIA were in firm control from the onset of Overpass as they put up an impenetrable defense for almost the entirety of the first half, consistent fragging from the fearsome rifling duo of Kaike "⁠KSCERATO⁠" Cerato and Yuri "⁠yuurih⁠" Santos repeatedly putting a halt to GODSENT's efforts to gain entry. Aided by the support of Rafael "⁠saffee⁠" Costa's AWP, FURIA were an indomitable force as they outclassed their countrymen through and through, a 12-3 CT half giving way to a 16-7 scoreline after the side swap as the first map was brought to a swift end.

Nuke saw slightly closer margins as Henrique "⁠HEN1⁠" Teles was a key player for GODSENT, helping put up numbers against his former team, but FURIA kept momentum in their favor en route to a 9-6 scoreline on the T side. A pistol win followed by further rounds only added insult to injury as that gap was extended further with FURIA rapidly attaining match point, and it was only a few rounds later that arT's side took things over the line, 16-11.

The second Brazilian derby was equally one-sided as it kicked off, paiN putting up a stellar offense on Vertigo thanks in part to a strong showing from Rodrigo "⁠biguzera⁠" Bittencourt. All MIBR had to their name in the first half was five rounds, and although they managed to briefly add to that tally following a pistol win in the second half, paiN quickly got back to winning ways once guns were in play, wasting little time in securing victory 16-10.

biguzera kept up his strong form on Dust2, with paiN taking an early 5-1 lead before MIBR began to stabilize, managing to keep the deficit to a minimum as the sides swapped over, paiN edging ahead 8-7. Over on the T side though, paiN once again took firm control as Wesley "⁠hardzao⁠" Lopes stepped up by winning a number of entry duels, combining with fragging from biguzera as paiN conceded just two additional rounds before closing out the map 16-9.