Can FURIA grasp Brazil's best chance to win a Major in years?

FURIA have a golden opportunity before them, the opportunity to bring another Major trophy to Brazil. Can they take it?

The Brazilian scene is not what it once was. That is the brutal reality. In August 2017 Brazil had two teams in the top five of the HLTV rankings, had four players in the HLTV top 20 that year with two of those being in the top three, and between SK and Immortals took a raft of trophies and top placings at international LAN events. Fast forward to 2022 and Brazil has one team in the top 10 of the rankings, had only one player in the HLTV top 20 last year at No. 15, and a Brazilian team hasn't won a big international LAN for years.

Since the demise of the legendary SK lineup, FURIA have been the only squad consistently flying the Brazilian flag in the top-tier of professional Counter-Strike, dominating the Americas region during the COVID-induced online era and peaking as high as No. 3 in the world rankings, whilst never dropping out of the top 20 and usually residing in the top 10. For a region that had such a dramatic upturn in fortunes throughout 2016 and 2017 and was tipped to be a big player on the international scene in the years to follow, this is not what the future was supposed to hold.

FURIA have enjoyed raucous support from the crowd throughout their campaign

The IEM Rio Major came as a godsend for Brazilian Counter-Strike, and South America as a whole. Finally the game’s biggest spectacle had arrived in a country that had contributed so much to the history of our game, from the domination of the SK era, to the incredible underdog run Immortals made to the final of the PGL Krakow Major, to the high-octane chaos FURIA have been bringing to the server in recent years. There was every possibility that we could see Brazil's best performance at a Major for a long time, that teams like 00NATION and Imperial could be spurred on by the support of a home crowd to make deep runs, and FURIA could be driven to challenge for the trophy. Only the latter can still come to pass.

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The immediate future is still uncertain for Brazilian CS with a chunk of Imperial seemingly close to retirement, with 00NATION yet to find the formula to push on with their young team, and squads like paiN and MIBR unable right now to make inroads when they attend events alongside European opposition. FURIA are the last hope, and they can bring success to a scene that has struggled for it in recent times by taking advantage of the opportunity they find before themselves, a genuine opportunity to make a run all the way to the final of their home Major and maybe even win the whole thing.

Natus Vincere, FaZe, Liquid, Vitality and Cloud9 would surely have been the most difficult obstacles to navigate; the latter four have already been eliminated, three of them in the Legends Stage. FURIA themselves have the opportunity to put the former to bed before the CIS squad's playoff campaign can gather any momentum. It will be a tall order to quash Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev and his brethren, players that are renowned for their ability to consistently remain near the very top of the CS ladder, but there is no better time to do it.

The Brazilian fans were incredible in the early stages of the Major with only a modest number in attendance, the noise and atmosphere created far surpassing what was to be expected of them. Now that the full might of the Jeunesse Arena will be behind FURIA, the sixth-man effect will kick into a higher gear and can propel the squad to new heights. Already it feels like the crowd have helped squeeze a few extra frags and plays out of the FURIA squad, and they will need to continue harnessing that energy against Natus Vincere. Considering the immense experience of their CIS counterparts in big LAN finals, even just in this year alone, it is doubtful that Natus Vincere would shrink in the face of a hostile crowd but it may help FURIA’s stature grow to a larger than life size.

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What can certainly not be underestimated is the sublime form of Kaike "⁠KSCERATO⁠" Cerato and Yuri "⁠yuurih⁠" Santos at this Major. They are the vital carry duo that FURIA rely on to get the majority of their fragging done, the dual-tip of the Brazilian spear, and both are hitting their best form at the perfect time. KSCERATO had something of a wobble from the PGL Major Antwerp until the playerbreak, going from 1.40 and 1.26 rated tournament performances at the Antwerp Americas RMR and the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown to 1.01 and 1.03 rated performances at the Major itself and IEM Dallas. Fortunately for his squad he has recovered, and a 1.35 average rating across the Challengers Stage and Legends Stage puts him amongst the tournaments very best performers thus far. yuurih has been more consistent throughout the year, but still has managed to peak at the key moment, with a 1.36 rating. Considering the potent firepower duo that Natus Vincere possess, s1mple and Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov, FURIA having their own in fine form is a prerequisite for victory.

There has been no better chance since to recapture some piece of the glory days of SK than here in Rio, and a Major trophy resting in the hands of FURIA would surely do wonders for helping to drive the scene onwards towards the kind of prosperity that was briefly experienced in 2017. A victory may well ignite the same kind of fire in the bellies of the younger generation that the likes of Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo and co. had when they were on their comeup, and could drive the scene to the heights that it saw in the SK/Immortals heyday. Many of the favourites have fallen by the wayside, the full weight of the home crowd will be behind FURIA, and their star duo are in sublime form. The stage is set. Now it is time for the protagonists to get the job done.