What to expect from FURIA v. Imperial

The all Brazilian match-up is sure to be a fiery affair, with Vinicius "VINI" Figueiredo going against his old team for only the second time since leaving FURIA for the Imperial project. Their last matchup went heavily in FURIA's favor, however, that was IEM Dallas 2022 and Imperial's current squad is completely different from then. Despite FURIA reaching the semi-finals of the IEM Rio Major, they come into ESL Pro League Season 17 on the back of a, frankly, abysmal performance at IEM Katowice where they failed to make it out of the play-in stage after losses to IHC and BIG.

Imperial refreshed with fresh additions

The Imperial team was formed with the majority of the old SK lineup and was the suggested "Last Dance" for several of its players. However, since the removal of Brazilian legends Lincoln "fnx" Lau, and most recently Fernando "fer" Alvarenga, the team has been revitalized. The legends were just past their prime and while Gabriel "FalleN" proved last year he could still hang at the big events, both fnx and fer failed to do so. Now with Marcelo "chelo" Cespedes and Jhonatan "JOTA" Willian, the Imperial side has their much-needed upgrade in firepower and have proven this by dominating the domestic scene by dropping only one series to Fluxo since the addition of JOTA and coach Rafael "zakk" Fernandes.

• Chelo 1.19 rating past three months

• JOTA 1.21 rating past three months

• Seven match win-streak

• Have only played domestically with their new lineup

FURIA's poor start, just a blip or cause for concern?

FURIA had a horrible start to the year. Still shaking off their Semi-Final disappointment at the IEM Rio Major, Brazil's number one team came into IEM Katowice wanting to prove that they could challenge for titles before they return to Rio later this year. However, despite having the play-ins highest rated player in Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato the team failed to even make the main group stage after an upset loss to Mongolian side IHC. FURIA fans shouldn't be worried just yet, as it is likely that they are just shaking off the cobwebs and will return to the prime form that got them so close to a Major win. If the team could take any positives from Katowice it is that KSCERATO looks set to continue his elite form from last year, establishing himself as one of the best riflers in the world.

• KSCERATO had a 1.33 rating in Katowice

• drop could only manage a 0.85 rating

• FURIA has not played since Katowice Play-in

• FURIA as an org have only won three trophies, FalleN has thirteen on his own

Previous Matchups

The two sides have faced off once before, as previously mentioned, with FURIA running out 16-9 winners at IEM Dallas 2022. The big caveat to that win is that the Imperial's lineup has undergone a massive shake-up and is inarguably better than the roster they attended last year's Dallas with. So not too much can be read into this previous match-up.

Likely Vetoes

• FURIA ban Nuke, no perma ban but 55% win rate v. Imperials 85% (with current rosters)

• Imperial ban Anubis, perma ban 0 HLTV Anubis games played so far

• FURIA pick Mirage, favorite map by far 77% win rate

• Imperial pick Ancient, 100% win rate this year (granted against weak opposition)

• Likely Inferno decider, both teams 60%+ win rate

Extras

Whilst the main rivalry for this game is of course VINI against his old team, there's also FalleN who is potentially in his last year trying to make one last run to the top of the game with some fresh fraggers by his side. If FURIA have a poor performance at ESL Pro League there will be questions over the team wasting KSCERATO being in the form of his life with no supporting cast to back him up.