KSCERATO has had plenty of reasons to smile over the last 12 months. A Top 20 placement tied for his best ever, his first S-tier trophy, and his first MVP, then straight back on the server in Malta with barely a proper off-season.
The BLAST Premier Bounty S1 is the second BLAST CS event hosted in Malta as part of their multi-year deal with GamingMalta.
In an interview ahead of Playoffs, the FURIA star opened up about what made 2025 click, why switching comms to English helped, and why he never hit the panic button even when things got dark in the FURIA project.
This interview was recorded before Valve released the new update with changes to Anubis.
“When we talk Portuguese, it becomes a mess”
KSCERATO described 2025 as a personal milestone year, not just because of trophies and MVPs, but because the team’s shift to English communication made day-to-day Counter-Strike feel cleaner.
“It was a special year, first MVP also first S-tier tournament win.”
He said the difference, for him, is how quickly emotion can take over when Brazilians are in full Portuguese mode mid-round.
“When we talk in Portuguese in game, there’s a lot of passion, it becomes like a mess… the communication goes so fast.”
English, in his eyes, slows things down in a good way.
“English is more like… there’s one [lane].”
KSCERATO also credited the way the roster’s skill sets fit together, with players bringing different strengths to specific parts of the map and game plan.
“Everyone is a specialist in something… all of us, we know what to do in exactly [our] position.”
Eight years of FURIA
KSCERATO has been tied to FURIA since 2018, long enough that people naturally ask whether he ever considered cashing out or jumping to a new project when the team struggled.
He did not pretend it was always easy.
“We went through a dark storm a lot of times… with peaks and [lows].”
But when asked if he had real options elsewhere, he kept it simple.
“Yeah, I refused Liquid.”
For KSCERATO, sticking with FURIA was not about some dramatic loyalty speech, it was about trusting the direction at the time and betting on the long-term upside.
“It was the best decision for me at the time.”
“I trusted my teammates and also I trust in the process… I knew that we had potential.”
Anubis is back
On the map pool, KSCERATO sounded frustrated that Anubis returned without meaningful updates. From his point of view, the CT side is still fighting an uphill battle.
“It’s so hard to play the map as a CT side.”
He even framed it in the most practical way possible, as in, survive the CT half and you are basically fine.
“If you get four or three CT side rounds, we can win the game easily.”
And because Valve did not change much, KSCERATO’s read was that the same playbook problems will show up again.
“The map didn’t change anything… same execute, so it looks like the same map.”
FURIA are heading into a packed early-season stretch regardless, but if Anubis stays as-is, it sounds like KSCERATO is expecting more of the same headaches on the CT side.
