Following another disappointing early exit for FURIA Esports at BLAST Open Spring 2025, I think it’s time to talk a bit about them. How did Brazil’s most promising roster to date end up so low? It’s been mostly negative with the very rare glint of positives for them over the past two years. How did this happen, and what can be done?
At the turn of the decade, FURIA Esports was making waves as the next big top tier Brazilian team in Counter-Strike. For a scene as large and passionate as the Brazil’s, it had been a decent while since the Luminosity/SK guys gave them a squad to rally behind on the biggest stages the game had to offer.
From 2019 through 2022, it wasn’t strange to see FURIA in Major Playoffs or Semifinals at IEM and ESL events. They were bringing a new and aggressive style to Counter-Strike that the best teams in the world struggled to deal with. They were easily the most unpredictable squad in the world in the server and carved out a spot for themselves among the upper echelons of CS teams.
Though they seldom lifted any silverware, their 2022 campaign gave plenty of close opportunities. They had top fours at ESL Pro League S15 and IEM Dallas and made Quarterfinals and Semifinals at the Antwerp and Rio Majors respectively. It was surely a matter of time before FURIA broke through their ceiling and claimed Counter-Strike glory for Brazil once more.
The Beginning of the End
Unfortunately, that would never come to pass. When we rolled into 2023, FURIA seemingly fell off a cliff. Their aggressive style was just not hitting the same as it was out of the COVID years. Maybe other teams figured them out, maybe they just weren’t playing at the same level as before.
Whatever the case, FURIA’s inability to perform throughout the first half of the year prompted a huge change, one that would change the trajectory of the BR CS scene for years to come. During the player break, FURIA acquired legendary AWPer IGL Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and his Imperial Esports teammate Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes.
This was supposed to be Brazil’s super team. For years, the FURIA core and FalleN’s core had played at the same time, adjacent but never really intersecting. The new kids and the old guard, so to say. When this move was made, FURIA had graduated into Brazil’s leading lords, pushing the region forward. It was only natural to want to see FalleN join forces with them.
Everyone expected results. Yes, some time might be needed to integrate two different styles of play and truly hit a level worthy of Brazil’s best, but this moment was where hope was revived.
Any Minute Now…
Heading into Counter-Strike 2 during the back end of 2023, there was a lot of uncertainty in the scene. Who would take off immediately, and who would struggle to adapt out the gate? FURIA was definitely in the latter. It’s only natural that a team nursing roster changes like theirs wouldn’t be the sharpest at the dawn of a new CS iteration.
That was fine, excuses were made and accepted, and time was granted. Everyone tolerated the dead last finishes and early exits. Not breaking into top 16 at IEM Cologne or ESL Pro League? It’s still early days. Barely making top 16 at the Copenhagen Major then not winning a single game in Swiss? They’re still sorting things out, it’s fine.
Weeks turned to months and FURIA still failed to produce results. The community became less generous, now starting to grow bored of seeing FURIA go out early at big events and only get decent games in at YaLLa Compass or BetBoom Dacha. Eventually, interest in what was supposed to be Brazil’s most promising project in years waned.
If anything, it’s been much more fun to see teams like paiN Gaming and MIBR come out of the woodworks and exceed expectations. They’ve got fresh faces like Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt and Felipe “insani” Yuji leading the charge, styling on higher rated teams and showing that they have loads of promise and room for improvement. It almost reminds me of…
Oh, That’s What Happened
In the years leading up to FURIA’s explosion onto the tier one scene, they were not much different than the paiN’s or MIBR’s of today. They were a squad of young, hungry, and talented players that just wanted to soak everything in and start their climb of the mountain. Things didn’t happen overnight though.
What broke FURIA through to the next level was years of grinding and perfecting their style. They didn’t need to try and replicate others’ methods. If you watch a FURIA game from their insane run of form in 2022 and compare it to now, you won’t recognize them. Modern FURIA is slow, passive. They try to implement FalleN’s calculated and patient playstyle but without the discipline or composure to see it through.
Quire simply put, it’s sad and boring. Seeing one of the best aggressive rifles of the early 2020’s in Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato chained down is tragic. The playstyles have not meshed, the chemistry has not developed. For a team that was supposed to unite the two most prominent sides of Brazilian CS, they have turned into less than the sum of their parts.
You know exactly how a FURIA game will go, the only surprise being which player throws a round that costs them the game. It’s clear at this point that this is a failed project. The only question now is where to go from here.
Finding Fixes
During the upcoming Summer player break, the FURIA organization needs to take a good hard look at this team and decide what to do. KSCERATO is still a great piece that can be built around. If they want to recapture that old FURIA feeling and be able to evolve it, this is a clear step one.
As great as FalleN has been throughout his long and successful career, it’s probably time for FURIA to give up on him. Sometimes a style of in-game leading just doesn’t mesh well with a team’s overall philosophy. That’s okay, it’s no one’s fault. I believe that FalleN is at his best right now when leading and refining a young squad with tons of talent and promise, and Brazil isn’t short on that.
Speaking of, FURIA has a wide pool of potential players to try and negotiate with. It would be super interesting to see a biguzera acquisition to fill an IGL vacancy, or maybe picking some rifling talent like insani or João “snow” Vinicius. They also could reach for an AWPer replacement in the form of Lucas “nqz” Soares.
While there is no guarantee that FURIA pulls the trigger on sweeping roster changes, they do need to find a way to stop the stagnation and regression that has plagued them for the past two years. Brazil deserves to have a team to root for at the highest level, a team that they can put all their weight and expectations behind without feeling like it’s futile. Will FURIA be able to reverse their fortunes, or will the faithful need to wait longer?
