Slow starts and individual performances: FURIA vs. BIG
Long gone are the days of FURIA looking dominant and almost reaching the grand finals of the Major, where they had a real shot at winning the whole thing. This 2023 look for the Brazilians is making the panther look almost like a domesticated cat. Nonetheless, FURIA has been winning the key matches, albeit in an unconvincing fashion, and they are still alive in ESL Pro League Season 17 after defeating BIG in a very close series. The stakes were high as the winner got a playoff ticket, and the loser got sent down to the gauntlet to fight for their lives.
The closeness of the series stems from various issues, mostly regarding the South American team, and mostly not showing the same levels we have come to expect of FURIA.
Wait, has the match started already?
Throughout the last six series, FURIA had the lead only once after the first five rounds of the first map, twice they were down 5-0 to open a BO3 series. The match against BIG was one of those occasions, with the Brazilians taking some time to get comfortable in the server. One consequence of this issue is the number of first halves lost by FURIA, leaving them chasing the lead more often than not. The last time FURIA won two first halves in the same series was against IHC during the IEM Katowice play-ins, but before that, only against NaVi during the IEM Rio major, in November.
"Finally, some help" - KSCERATO, probably
The rifler has been heavy-lifting his team lately, as Yuri "yuurih" Santos has been going through a quieter period ever since the end of the Brazilian major. Thankfully, Rafael "saffee" Costa has been increasing his level of play and is starting to be more consistent when it matters the most. saffee managed to be FURIA's best player of the series against BIG, propelling the team to a crucial win that sent them to the playoffs. FURIA has only won 13 games when the AWPer is not performing well (a rating lower than 1.00).
Living up to the hype(d)
Marcel "hyped" Köhn showed up once more, proving that he is one to watch in the near future. The 21-year-old has been very consistent since his call-up to the German's main squad, and the series against FURIA was another example. hyped finished the series with a +7 K-D difference, the best on his team, while being the second most deadly player of BIG, with 57 kills, right behind Nils "k1to" Gruhne who had 58. hyped is the best-rated player from the BIG squad in the last month.
What's next?
With the win against BIG, FURIA is now in the playoffs for ESL Pro League Season 17. The Brazilians are yet to know their adversaries but they will have to start fixing their early mistakes in order to have a shot against tougher opposition, which they will find the deeper they go in the playoffs. This is also a great moment for yuurih to start putting up bigger numbers and show why he is the 19th-best player in the world.
