Opinion: FURIA is not on track to get back on track

For FURIA, 2022 was set to be the year in which the squad firmly proved themselves as title contenders. The squad ended 2021 on a bittersweet note, finally securing their first Major playoffs before being disposed of by Gambit in the quarterfinals, leaving FURIA with no more events to play until the new year. The acquisition of Rafael "saffee" Costa, the star AWPer of paiN, looked to be a perfect fit for the squad. His addition freed up IGL Andrei "arT" Piovezan from sniping, a role the latter player took on following the departure of Paytyn "junior" Johnson.

For a team expecting so much, 2022 has been far harsher for the Brazilians. FURIA have certainly shown flashes of brilliance throughout the year, namely at ESL Pro League Season 15 and IEM Dallas, however the squad has had difficulty both maintaining that momentum and consistently contending for titles. With IEM Cologne just around the corner, FURIA's recent results have only gotten worse and worse begging the question; will FURIA be able to turn around the sinking ship in time for one of the most prestigious events of the year?

What went right in June?

FURIA's run in IEM Cologne is set to begin in only a matter of days. It is crucial to consider the squad's recent showings, which have been unfavorable to say the least. FURIA kicked off June in IEM Dallas, where the team did put up a strong placing with a semifinal finish on American soil, one of FURIA's best placings this year so far. En route to their semifinal placing, the squad bested fellow countrymen Imperial in their opening BO1, and eventual event winners Cloud9. In playoffs, the team narrowly edged out G2 before crumbling against ENCE in the semifinals.

All things considered, this was not a bad showing for the team by any means, but there were some signs of concern. While Yuri "yuurih" Santos finished IEM Dallas with an impressive 1.20 rating, the sixth highest in the event, his teammates struggled to keep up, with Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato far behind with a 1.03 average rating, while saffee only maintained a 1.00 rating. Again, a semifinal finish is nothing to sniff at, but a significant amount of the team's success lies in a fantastic performance from yuurih, something not sustainable in the long-term to solely rely on.

What went wrong in June?

Unfortunately for FURIA, the remainder of the month would not be as fruitful, with the team bombing out of the Roobet Cup and ESL Challenger Valencia, falling both times to significantly lower-ranked squads. The online Roobet Cup saw FURIA crumble not once, but twice, to the LATAM side 9z, leading to FURIA bowing out in 9-12th place despite being considered favorites to top their group. ESL Challenger Valencia managed to somehow be a worse result, with FURIA stumbling against Sprout and the new-look 00 Nation, exiting in last place without a map win to their name.

While yuurih has largely been a strong performer this year, Roobet Cup and ESL Challenger Valencia were some of his worst ratings since the beginning of the year, with a 1.00 and 1.03 rating respectively. yuurih was not the only one having issues in these events, as arT found himself at the bottom of the Valencia charts with a 0.74 rating, and a 0.90 opening kill rating, a far cry from the impressive entry fragging seen from the IGL at EPL Season 15 where arT averaged a 1.43 opening kill rating.

What will FURIA need to replicate this year's successes?

For FURIA to make a deep run in Cologne, a lot of things will need to go right for the squad. As mentioned previously, star performances from yuurih have been absolutely critical to the squad's runs in EPL Season 15 and IEM Dallas, and as such, yuurih will need to be able to brush off the rough showings at the end of June and give it his all for Cologne. But, as critical as yuurih is to FURIA's success, he is not the only one who needs to contribute for the squad to succeed.

When arT is on top of his game, he is by far one of the most impactful entry fraggers in the game. As mentioned previously, his 1.43 opening kill rating at EPL Season 15 is an example of how efficient he can be at making space for his squad. But, in recent months, arT has stalled out, with a 0.88 rating at the PGL Major Antwerp, a 0.98 rating at IEM Dallas, and the aforementioned 0.74 rating at ESL Challenger Valencia. A return to arT's EPL form would be a boon for FURIA in Cologne.

saffee was a player I was particularly excited about when he was on paiN, and I was glad to see him get the call up to FURIA, but truthfully his performances have been a far cry from the talent displayed on paiN. By no means is he a bad AWPer, but for someone utilizing one of the most impactful weapons in the game, the sniper has struggled to put up impressive numbers recently. While saffee displayed solid form at ESL Challenger February and the PGL Major Antwerp Americas RMR, these two events were far below tier-one caliber. In Big Events this year, including Dallas and EPL Season 15, saffee averaged a middling 0.99 average rating. If FURIA want to tussle with elite, title-contending squads, saffee absolutely needs to find more consistent impact in his role, otherwise, FURIA will continue to struggle to be competitive.

Will FURIA be able to get it together?

To recap, if FURIA are going to turn things around at Cologne, yuurih will need to continue putting up star numbers, arT's entry fragging needs to produce value, and saffee needs to maintain consistent performances with the AWP. While KSCERATO and André "drop" Abreu have also struggled recently, FURIA's success will more likely hinge on strong showings from the other three players.

With all this in mind, will FURIA actually be able to do it? As much as I'd like to say yes, there are simply too many things that need to go right for FURIA for things to work out. While it's not unreasonable to expect yuurih to continue putting up strong numbers, saffee and arT are unlikely to find the impact they need to have. arT's performances have only gotten worse since Dallas, and with a year-low 0.74 rating at the Roobet Cup, it seems unreasonable to expect the IGL to turn things around on a dime. saffee meanwhile has struggled to find consistent form against top opposition at any point in 2022. While he has displayed talent in individual matches, there is nothing to indicate that he will be able to find that consistency here at Cologne, especially considering the squad's overall slump.

FURIA marched into 2022 with their eyes firmly set on contending for titles. Now, with the year more than halfway complete, FURIA come to IEM Cologne with their tail tucked between their legs, looking to get past this last event before going back to the drawing board over the player break. If FURIA want the rest of the year to go anywhere near as well as they originally hoped, they have a lot of work to do.