FURIA outclassed by BIG in Dallas
FURIA's unbeaten record in Dallas has come to an abrupt end after being swiftly taken down 2-1 by German side, BIG. This defeat sees the Brazilians start their playoff campaign on Friday from the quarterfinals.
The series began on BIG's pick of Nuke where the Germans quickly drummed up an early 5-1 lead thanks to a strong performance from their newest recruit, Karim "Krimbo" Moussa. A brief exchange of rounds thereafter allowed the Brazilian side to finally get some rounds on the board, but it didn't take long for BIG to get back in the driver's seat to post a comfortable 11-4 lead by the end of the half.
Unfortunately for FURIA, things only went from bad to worse once it was their turn to defend, losing three rounds on the trot to help the Germans extend their already dominant lead. A short-lived resurgence in form from FURIA only delayed the inevitable, with BIG soon wasting little time in finding the few remaining rounds they needed to take Nuke 16-8 and go 1-0 up in the series.
FURIA's pick brought us to the staggering heights of Vertigo, where the panthers were poised with a game plan to even up the series. BIG elected to choose the attacking side to begin their assault but were brought to a head immediately. FURIA secured the pistol round and the conversion along with the next few rounds, taking four before the Germans were able to answer at all.
The Germans cleared another round in their favor before the Brazilians ruffled their feathers to strike back once more. At one point, FURIA had nine rounds to BIG's two and were on the cusp of running away with the whole map. Luckily for their fans, they mustered up a late half comeback to bring the score within three, six to nine in the Brazilians' favor.
FURIA were none too keen to let BIG think they were in the game, though. They struck back in their T-side pistol and won the conversion, setting themselves up with a five-round lead. They continued to trade rounds back and forth, trading round after round. Unfortunately for BIG, the Brazilian bulldozer just would not stop. FURIA's unrelenting aggression pulled them all the way across the line to win the map 16-10.
Both teams agreed upon Mirage as the final battlefield for their conflict, setting the stage for an epic elimination brawl. FURIAtook the pistol and the following, but the incredible BIG attack prevented them from winning consecutive rounds for the rest of the half. The Brazilian's defense was felt paper-thin in the face of BIG's assault, with the Germans racking up eleven rounds in the first half. Necessary to stay in the game, FURIA won their T-side pistol and the conversion. Eager to not fall so easily, FURIA's attack matched BIG's in ferocity, racking up six in the face of BIG's two. BIG wasn't going to let their huge advantage slip, fighting back on their CT-side with a staunch defense to shut the South Americans out of the game. They won the last three rounds they needed in quick succession to close out the series 2-1.
FURIABIG| FURIA |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Andrei 'arT' Piovezan |
62 - 61 | +1 | 87.0 | 71.1% | 1.10 |
| Yuri 'yuurih' Santos |
54 - 50 | +4 | 77.2 | 73.7% | 1.05 |
| Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato |
50 - 43 | +7 | 74.1 | 64.5% | 1.00 |
| André 'drop' Abreu |
39 - 50 | -11 | 62.8 | 67.1% | 0.89 |
| Rafael 'saffee' Costa |
36 - 51 | -15 | 54.8 | 60.5% | 0.78 |
| BIG |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Florian 'syrsoN' Rische |
57 - 39 | +18 | 66.6 | 76.3% | 1.22 |
| Josef 'faveN' Baumann |
59 - 51 | +8 | 79.4 | 67.1% | 1.13 |
| Johannes 'tabseN' Wodarz |
56 - 59 | -3 | 89.1 | 72.4% | 1.13 |
| Karim 'Krimbo' Moussa |
43 - 46 | -3 | 68.9 | 77.6% | 1.01 |
| Tizian 'tiziaN' Feldbusch |
39 - 48 | -9 | 58.7 | 67.1% | 0.89 |
As this was the upper bracket finale, both teams will make an appearance on the big stage. BIG get a pass directly to the semifinals where they will take on the winner of FaZe and Cloud9. FURIA play the first match of the in-person portion of IEM Dallas where they face G2 in the quarterfinals.
