MSI Preview: FURIA, Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain

This is the first international appearance for the LTA South this season, and things are looking incredibly tough for FURIA: can they defy expectations in Vancouver? Let’s break the team down in our MSI Preview.

It’s an uphill battle for FURIA

Let’s not mince words, Furia have an incredibly tough run ahead of them. The CBLOL/LLA conglomerate is fighting an uphill battle in its first season, but that’s not to say that this David plans to wave a white flag to the various Goliaths at MSI. Competition is incredibly fierce this year, and as the number two seed from LTA, Furia is going to be fighting for their life during the play-in Stage.

Furia is a team that has had a very clear identity of how and why they want to play League of Legends in the era of Fearless Draft. Top laner Guigo defaults to high-agency skirmishers and fighters that result in his whopping 26% damage share over the season, with picks like Renekton, Aatrox, Gwen, and Jayce at the forefront of his comfort list. Jungler Tatu, while able to pull out more niche picks like Viego and Lillia, has defaulted towards a much more standard jungle pool of picks like Xin Zhao and Wukong. 

Except for once or twice in a blue moon, Tutsz will be on a mage of some variety, with only four games of non-mage characters all season long, and you’ll see support Jojo likely on engagers, making space for Ayu. From top to bottom, Furia’s game plan is solid and breathes good League of Legends. However, it relies on individual advantages from its players.

The inter-conference competition didn’t raise the stocks for LTA South

In LTA South, Furia has been able to claim these advantages, but the inter-conference event earlier this year proved that even weaker NA teams were able to easily dispatch their adversaries and lock out their Sul counteraparts from the top 4. There was a clear gap at the start of the season between the North and South Conferences. With that in mind, I’d be hesitant about them finding the same edges against top teams from other regions, especially teams like BLG and G2, who are with them in play-ins. 

The honest truth is that the betting man’s odds say Furia goes home in last place, but that expectation does not dictate their future. Furia is not damned at the starter pistol, and they’re certainly not about to go out without a fight. But, given the context of the region mergers, the year so far, and the level of competition at the event, I think Furia are the weakest competitor at MSI.

Nonetheless, even the weakest competitor at MSI is still a champion in their own right, and merely making this stage is a task most will never achieve. No matter where Furia’s story ends at this event, they are sure to rage against the region gap.