KSCERATO: "HEN1 was the best AWPer that we had but now I think saffee is"

Following their win against Liquid on Monday, Ryan Friend had a chance to talk to FURIA's Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato to discuss the team's aggressive playstyle, their progress as a squad as Rafael "saffee" Costa is bedded in, and the difficult decision to part ways with Vinicius "VINI" Figueiredo, among other topics.

Congrats on the 1-1 record, you had a good start to the day, shutting down Liquid on Ancient on their T-side. That's a bit hard to do because they are a good Ancient team. What was your though process on choosing Ancient?

Having played against Liquid in practice on Ancient we did well so we are confident on the map. We practice it a lot and it's a map we like to play because we can rush so I think that's important with our confidence in the map.

When I talked with Liquid before the game they told me that they wanted to shut down arT and then try to play 5v4. How instrumental is arT on a map like this where you have more opportunities to push and rush?

I think he's a good aggressive player and he's fundamental for our team because he can create space and get information. I think Liquid didn't complete their mission, but he's very important for us.

FURIA is rated as one of the top teams from the Americas region. The region has been a bit weaker in recent times, how do you feel about the state of the region and as a representative of that scene?

I think in this scenario right now it's bad because to be honest we don't have too many teams to play because when you play tournaments there we always play Liquid, Evil Geniuses, and GODSENT, those are the best teams to play. If we have to play other teams that doesn't go well... because I don't know man. It's strange man because of the lack of experience.

After a few roster changes in 2021, the team has solidified around drop and saffee. How has it been to have a lineup that is consistent again?

This team for me, yuurih, and arT, is the best team we've had and we are happy because the guys wants to win. I think we are good now and we have an AWPer to secure some angles and it's good because arT likes to aggress a lot so you need to hold angles for him.

How does saffee compare to previous AWPers you've had?

HEN1 was pretty good because he matches up a lot with us. I think almost the same, but saffee has something different with his education. He knows how to talk and he's always trying to do something. He talks a lot with each of us and I think that's the difference. HEN1 was the best AWPer that we had but now I think saffee is.

Do you think the team is better now in terms of communication and cohesion?

Yeah communication and following steps. I think this is the best team.

When you had junior, the problems were well known, including the communication issues.

For me it was good because I think like to communicate in English but sometimes it's hard because when you're holding a site and they're pushing you and you try to communicate fast, it's not the same thing. When you play with your native language it's the best because you can shout and yell. It's easier with saffee because we rush and play fast and we need to communicate fast. VINI can say more because he was the translator. We can't think about what we need to say in English.

Speaking of VINI as he walks by us, his presence on FURIA was massive as one of the original members of the team. Was it hard to part ways with VINI after so long?

Yeah for me it was difficult because I lived with VINI for two years and we were always in the same room in the hotel. I don't like to talk about it much because I get emotional but we needed to do something to get results. Having VINI leave hurt us but that's the life.

Twistzz echoed that sentiment about having to know what you need to do to get to the next level even if you have to replace friends. What do you think about that?

The most important thing is to not stagnate. Don't be so chill and get frustrated after being together for such a long time. VINI was a good team player because we played together, he was my duo in bombsites. For me it was good but we needed something and drop was the fresh meat. It's easier to teach him things that VINI can't get.

The coaching situation is a hot topic here at the Major. We've seen three more coaches get banned while guerri is still banned for a long time. arT spoke before about how his absence hurt the team. What's it like not having him here?

He's very proud of us and he knows how to hype us. He knows each of us and what we each need. We play for him and he's probably crazy watching because when you can see like a god with the x-ray it's tough. I don't want to talk about ESIC because I don't even read the things they post because it's not my focus y'know?

Coming away from this experience as one of the best teams here, what result would you be satisfied with?

I don't like to create expectations. I like to play CS and focus on my teammates. I don't want to think about the future because it's more important.

FURIA lost against NIP in their 2-1 matchup and are scheduled to play against either Heroic of G2 in their 2-2 matchup tomorrow, depending on how the final series turns out today.