arT: "My work here is very clear"

Many fans and spectators alike are carrying high expectations for FURIA entering the Legends Stage of the BLAST.tv Paris Major for a variety of reasons. Some warranted, some not. However, the sudden rise in performance from perceived little brothers paiN and newfound in-game leader Rodriguo "biguzera" Bittencourt, combined with the recent stagnation in results from FURIA, there is a slate of external pressures attempting to weigh down FURIA and its players. As one could come to expect, FURIA in-game leader Andrei "arT" Piovezan does not let the naysay affect him.

For me, my work here is very clear. I don't have any doubts about what I have to do. I think that most parts of the judgments are because of stats, and I have no interest in stats. I always try to do what's best for the team ... I'm not going to make the other players make the bad plays because no one wants to do that, and I usually do what I think it's best for the team and what's more comfortable for my players.

That selfless attitude has netted arT a reputation by many as a high-octane and at times out of control player. "Boom-or-bust", as some would describe it, his non-traditional ways can net him incredible highlights as quickly as they can make him suffer embarrassing lows. However, arT doesn't let this characterization define him, his teammates, or his playstyle.

I don't see a lot of game insight when talking about FURIA, but I see a lot of use of FURIA's image, "FURIA plays like this, so they have this problem". I think that's because of FURIA's early days game style. We had a tendency to be more aggressive, but that doesn't characterize us for last year or this year where we played a very different style. We have a lot of rounds that have nothing to do with that, so I think it's a judgment coming from people who don't understand CS.

At the end of the day, arT doesn't focus much on the fodder. A competitor to his core, the Major is the only thing he has his sights set on.

We are here to win, and if we can't win there's a reason why, and then when the tournament ends we have to figure out why we didn't win and try to solve that issue so we can not make the same mistake again. The pressure of winning this Major because it's the last, doesn't exist. But, I think the pressure of winning it all exists always. If we win this Major, we will have more pressure to perform in the next one, so that pressure to win won't ever end.

FURIA will kick off their path to the playoffs against Monte tomorrow at 07:00AM, a team that qualified through the Challengers stage. Coming into this one, arT feels ready as ever entering with a notable Major experience advantage versus a lineup with four debutants. Experience and opponents aside, FURIA comes into the game with the same focus.

We have played a lot of these situations against hard teams, so for us it's normal. We know the pressure of BO1s and the value of every pistol round. CS:GO's level of gameplay has been getting better with time, you can see a lot of young teams appearing in the scene. The guys from Monte, who we play tomorrow, you can see they are very skilled. It's a tough situation, but we have to be ready and do our best. I think this mentality exists in every game, independently of if it's against Monte, FaZe, or NAVI. We have to play our best to win and that's what matters at the end of the day.