Andrei “arT” Piovezan is the name that comes to mind for a lot of people when they think about FURIA with the always aggressive in-game leader having been in charge of the Brazilian squad for more than five years straight.

However, that may change any time soon if you ask the renowned CS:GO expert Jacob "Pimp" Winneche.

In a lengthy [link:{"url":"https://twitter.com/Pimp_CSGO/status/1636111020954468355","isNewTab":true,"text":"Twitter post"}], Pimp questions arT’s abilities of leading the South American heavy-hitter going forward as he criticizes him for the lack of titles and improvement of FURIA.

- I firmly believe arT’s position in FURIA is up for debate. I also think anyone not willing to have the debate is not worth talking CS with.

- He has failed to win anything with FURIA, and there’s been close to zero development in their play style for years. That’s primarily arT’s responsibility as I see it. […] On top of that is he struggling individually, giving way too many opening kills away.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"art-lashes-analyst-streamer","isNewTab":true}]

Pimp’s Twitter post is a response to a Brazilian fan who called out Pimp for being unbiased against FURIA in comparison with Liquid, which were the team used in this instance. Something the Danish expert also touched upon.

- I got absolutely zero issues with arT as a person, but that doesn’t matter. My job is not to cater to fans personal feelings about their favorite players. It’s sooo easy to be well liked by all fan bases, just sell out of your beliefs and say exactly what they want to hear. With zero integrity you cause zero problems for delusional fans, Pimp noted.

You can read the entire Twitter post by Pimp down below.

Notable FURIA results under the leadership of arT:

- 2nd Esports Championship Series Season 7 ($100.000)

- 1st ESL Pro League Season 12 North America ($77.500)

FURIA

Andrei "arT" Piovezan lashed out at YNk, calling him "incompetent" and "ignorant" for not understanding his style of play. He claimed that YNk had never played the game at the level that he had and had no right to comment on his gameplay. ArT also took issue with the fact that YNk had only commented on one round, rather than looking at the game as a whole. The known streamer and analyst Jacob "Pimp" Winneche agreed with Janko Paunovic saying "The major delayed the inevitable"  

ArT's response to the criticism is understandable, given the pressure that professional players face and the importance of their performance to their careers. However, his response was not constructive and could have been handled better. It is essential for players to be able to take criticism and feedback from analysts and coaches in order to improve their gameplay and lead their teams to success. However, could the two analysts have a point saying that arT is holding back his team members in order to fulfill his own playstyle? 

[twitchClip:EvilUglyAntGrammarKing-3JsgWMnGndHTo6fo]

- Janko is a dumb guy, if he wants to argue about FURIA´s playstyle, he needs to pick rounds and argue about them, because when he picks rounds with only 15 seconds left to criticize FURIA´s playstyle, you see that it doesn´t make any sense, arT said on his stream. 

Andrei ”arT” Piovezan and the rest of FURIA are without some of the biggest darlings in South America right now. The Brazilian squad is currently riding the wave at IEM Rio Major where they just have secured a spot in the prestigious playoff stage.

We got the chance to speak with the FURIA captain and in-game leader about the impressive achievement. Watch the interview right here in the video below.

On Wednesday, FURIA got eliminated from ESL Pro League Season 16 after Outsiders handed them a 1-2 loss. The Brazilian squad finished in 9-12th place and went home with $32,000 in prize earnings.

Despite the tough loss and getting eliminated from the tournament, FURIA’s arT has managed to make his way to our #POTD regardless, after he got another outstaning round into his records on the second map of the series, Vertigo. FURIA lost the map 10-16, but that doesn’t take away the quality of play in this clip.

Outsiders

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive can soon celebrate its 10th birthday, however, the popular first-person shooter is far from outdated. There are still tons of new and innovative strategies, tricks, utility lineups and positions to explore and utilize.

The popular YouTuber “NartOutHere” has made a video capturing all the best tricks and tips from pro players at the newly-concluded PGL Major Antwerp.

Watch and learn from the very best in CS:GO in the video down below.

There are a lot of ICONIC AWPers that we all know and love, but for the pros themselves, who is their favorite AWPer of All-time? Betway esports have sat down with several pros such as kennyS, shox, and arT to find out who they think is the best AWPer of all time.

[youtube:www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMz-zZgUlMw&t=88s&ab_channel=betwayesports]

kennyS

shox

The third and fourth games of the day at IEM Dallas would see one team secure a playoff spot, while one team would be eliminated. The fight for the playoff spot stood between FURIA and Cloud9, while MOUZ and Vitality had to do their best to stay alive in this competition.

The action kicked off on Cloud9's pick of Vertigo, but it was the FURIA squad that got the best start. The trio of "arT", "saffee", and "yuurih", working around A and Middle secured a 7-1 lead. "nafany" and co. luckily managed to end the half better than they started, but the Brazilians still held a comfortable five-round lead at halftime.

The Russian squad started the second half much better even after losing the pistol round, but individually just did not seem as strong as the Brazilians who were able to rather comfortably steal away C9's map pick.

FURIA still looked like the best team as they landed on their own pick of Mirage. Even though the momentum went back and forth a couple of times, there were very few times where it actually felt like Cloud9 had the chance of taking it. With a three round winstreak to close the map FURIA secured the series at 2-0 and with it a spot in the playoffs.

16-9 (Vertigo) | {cflag:BR} saffee - 1.51 Rating / 27-14 K-D / 91.9 ADR

16-13 (Mirage) | {cflag:BR} yuurih - 1.38 Rating / 27-20 K-D / 96.0 ADR

MVP: {cflag:BR} Yuri "yuurih" Santos - 1.42 Rating / 48-34 K-D / 96.5 ADR

, the elimination Bo3 started with an extremely close half on MOUZ's choice of Inferno. It was back and forth through all fifteen rounds, but MOUZ ended out on top at 8-7 despite a great effort from "ZywOo".

MOUZ extended their lead by three after the break, but an eight-round streak devastatingly gave Vitality map point. "dexter" and co. were almost able to make the comeback happen, but due to a massive bank account for the French/Danish mix, they were up against rifles every single round, and Vitality just barely ran away with the victory.

The second map of Mirage was nowhere near as close as Inferno. With contributions from every player on the team and a standout performance from "Magisk", Vitality pretty easily secured their map pick and sent MOUZ packing.

14-16 (Inferno) | {cflag:FR} ZywOo - 1.50 Rating / 26-14 K-D / 91.9 ADR

7-16 (Mirage) | {cflag:DK} Magisk - 1.92 Rating / 26-13 K-D / 125.7 ADR

MVP: {cflag:DK} Emil "Magisk" Reif - 1.51 Rating / 45-28 K-D / 105.4 ADR

Magisk

ZywOo

yuurih

saffee

Cloud9

MOUZ

Team Vitality

It was a playoffs-or-elimination match when FURIA and G2 took to the server. When the two last met at IEM Katowice, G2 took a narrow three-map victory.

FURIA started great on the T side of their pick, Vertigo. The Brazilians went up 6-2 and it looked as though they would dominate the first half. Unfortunately for the South Americans, a man called "huNter-" had other plans. The Bosnian led his team back in contention, and to an 8-7 halftime lead.

The G2 squad did not find the same success on the T side as "arT" was relentlessly bullying them around Ramp. Add to this the fact that "yuurih" had an incredible game and you have got a FURIA win.

Moving onto G2's pick of Inferno, it was the unlikely duo of "JaCkz" and "arT" that shone for their respective teams in the first half. As close as can be at 8-7 at halftime these two entry-fraggers both had an ADR of over 100.

The second half continued in the same close fashion and went the full thirty rounds. "KSCERATO" almost pulled out a 1v4 in the dying stages of the map, but "JaCkz" took him down and secured their map pick.

FURIA had a good start to the T side of Ancient which was the last map of the series. The Brazilian squad went up 4-3 but the rest of the half belonged to the Europeans who ended the half on a 7-1 streak.

The second half started with four straight rounds of force-buy wars. All of the rounds were extremely close, but "arT" and co. ended out on top, and drove it home from there with a ten-round winstreak.

G2's Major dreams are over as they get knocked out and see FURIA advance to the quarter-finals.

[twitchClip:pgl/clip/AlertTenuousDadOhMyDog-uLNy2yAFQZqS72sQ]

G2 - FURIA 1-2 | PGL Major Antwerp Legends Stage

12-16 (Vertigo) | {cflag:BR} yuurih - 1.61 Rating / 26-14 K-D / 110.0 ADR

16-14 (Inferno) | {cflag:BA} NiKo - 1.50 Rating / 27-19 K-D / 97.9 ADR

11-16 (Ancient) | {cflag:BR} KSCERATO - 1.47 Rating / 23-13 K-D / 88.0 ADR

MVP: {cflag:RU} Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov - 1.16 Rating / 60-51 K-D / 75.9 ADR

huNter

JaCkz

G2 Esports

Henrique “HEN1” Teles was once one of FURIA’s most powerful weapons, but today the Brazilian AWPer were set to square up against his former teammates at BLAST Premier Spring Showdown. 

The Bo3 began on GODSENT’s pick of Overpass,  where FURIA found themselves the first five rounds. GODSENT finally got themselves on the board in the sixth round but were immediately shut down by FURIA, and by staying aggressive and not allowing their opponents any space to work with “arT” and co. won the CT-side 12-3.

FURIA unsurprisingly kept up the pace, and in spite of heavy resistance from latto and HEN1, closed it out in swift fashion at 16-7.

On Andrei “arT” Piovezan and company’s map pick of Nuke, the FURIA supremacy continued with the Brazilian panthers presenting a solid T side. Their strong offensive gave them a favorable 9-6 lead going into the switch. In the end, the FURIA victory was inevitable as GODSENT not managed to step up their game, resulting in a clear 16-11 win. 

In tomorrow’s title-decider, FURIA will go up against the winner of the second semifinal between MIBR or paiN. A matchup, which is set to kick off at 22.00 (CET) today.

FURIA - GODSENT 2-0 | BLAST Premier Spring Showdown NA

16-7 (Overpass) | {cflag:BR} KSCERATO - 1.50 Rating / 21-11 K-D / 104.3 ADR 

16-11 (Nuke) | {cflag:BR} yuurih - 1.59 Rating / 28-13 K-D / 93.6 ADR 

MVP: {cflag:BR} Henrique “HEN1” Teles - 1.49 Rating / 47-29 K-D / 102.0 ADR

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/hen1_lvbgmf","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: StarLadder Igor Bezborodov"}]

HEN1 did all he could to take down his former teammates from FURIA

HEN1

latto

GODSENT

The BLAST Premier Spring Showdown consists of a Bo3 single-elimination bracket, which means that every match is life or death. The winner will take one of the remaining two spots at BLAST Premier Spring Final 2022.

Here we give you a run-through of the teams, that we have placed in different brackets; Favorites, Contenders, and Outsiders.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/arT_tuup5w","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL"}]

has throughout the last couple of years cemented themselves as one of the strongest teams in the Americas, and as the best team in Brazil. With a combination of uncontrollable aggression and enormous amounts of talent, this squad has proven to be one of the hardest teams to play against. After acquiring "drop" and "saffee" the team has been trending upwards, and if all their pieces are working they will be very hard to deal with.

Player to watch: {cflag:BR} Andrei "arT" Piovezan is by far the most aggressive player in the world both stylistically and statistically. Furthermore, he is one of the most successful players in opening duels making him an extremely exciting, unique, and entertaining player.

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had a rough start to the year after some big roster changes, but they have started showing why they should still be considered one of the top contenders in America. With "nitr0", who earlier led the team to an Intel Grand Slam, leading a band of star players who are currently performing on an extraordinarily high level, this squad can take on even the toughest opponents. 

Player to watch: {cflag:FR} Richard "shox" Papillon will not deliver the same high numbers as some of his teammates, but the Frenchman is one of the most exciting players to watch when the situations get tough and he can really flex his brain!

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have been together for about three months now, and even though they have not consistently been able to challenge the top-tier teams, they have done exceedingly well against their American rivals. They are a very young team full of talent which means that anything can happen.

Player to watch: {cflag:US} Ricky "floppy" Kernery has been the consistent player on this team. With great fundamentals and an impeccable aim, the 22-year-old rifler is one to look out for.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"teams/MIBR/Copyright_-_Bart-Oerbekke_-_mibr_vccz8h","originalWidth":3840,"originalHeight":2160,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: Bart Oerbekke ESL","alt":"CS:GO, Counter-Strike"}]

is one of the most exciting teams in the world, as they have a very unique approach to the game. It is a team that is hard to play against because you never know what they are going to throw at you. The Brazilian squad has a great track record over the last couple of months, but many of those matches are against lower-tier teams.

Player to watch: {cflag:BR} Jhonatan "JOTA" Willian has been delivering consistently high numbers since he started playing professionally and is right now playing some of his best CS!

went Brazilian a little more than a year ago, and even though the project was a little uncertain the young roster has flourished under the leadership of "TACO". The team recently picked up "HEN1" as the main AWP'er, and if things fall into place with the ex-FURIA star this is a team that can challenge the big boys.

Player to watch: {cflag:BR} Henrique "HEN1" Teles has not found the level he displayed in 2020 yet, but he will need to if GODSENT want to have a chance at securing the Spring Final spot.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/hardzao_pain_j4at6k","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL"}]

has had a rough go of it in recent times. They have rarely managed to beat tier 1 or tier 2 teams and will have to shake things up to make an upset.

Player to watch: {cflag:BR} Wesley "hardzao" Lopes needs to step up. He has enormous talent but needs to deliver on a higher level than he has.

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 was also one of the teams that made a roster change at the start of the year, but they have not yet had much success. Even though there are several Major-winners from the old Cloud9 that won the ELEAGUE Boston Major 2018, this constellation can not seem to find the winning ticket.

Player to watch: {cflag:BG} Tsvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrov was once considered one of the best AWP'ers in the world, and he needs to find out how to get back to that level if the Geniuses are to stand a chance.

are at #114 the lowest-ranked team at the event, and not a lot is expected from them. They did however recently beat Imperial twice, both in a Bo3 and a Bo1.

Player to watch: {cflag:BR} Romeu "zevy" Rocco has been a beam of light for the Sharks. The 20-year-old AWP'er will have to play the tournament of his life to make the Sharks' dreams come true.

zevy

CeRq

hardzao

floppy

Team Liquid

Evil Geniuses

paiN

compLexity Gaming

MIBR

FURIA is 2-0 up at the Americans Regional Major Rankings in Bucharest, after another big win.

This time it was their South American counterparts from Isurus, who had to succumb to the firepower from FURIA. arT and his men had an excellent first half winning 13-2 before finishing Isurus off quickly in the second half. 

With a win tomorrow, FURIA will secure qualification for the PGL Major in Antwerpen next month. Their opponents will be found later tonight.

FURIA - Isurus 16-4 | PGL Major Antwerp Americas RMR

On the B-steam, Party Astronauts won 16-10 on Inferno to claim their first victory at the event. The North American roster won against Leviatan after an excellent first half. The NA team is now 1-1 in the Swiss group stage, while Leviatan is one loss away from elimination.

Party Astronauts - Leviatan 16-11 | PGL Major Antwerp Americas RMR

Isurus

Party Astronauts

Andrei “arT” Piovezan and FURIA are off to a great start at the PGL Major Antwerp Americas RMR, taking down Leviatan 16-5 in the opening round of play.

The Bo1 series was heavily dominated by the Brazilians throughout the entire battle on Inferno, where the favourites allowed zero holes for Leviatan to exploit. Something the 14-1 halftime score in favour of FURIA clearly showed.

In the second half, Leviatan stepped up a bit, however, a potential comeback was still miles away for the underdogs, losing 16-5 in the end.

FURIA – Leviatan 1-0 | PGL Major Antwerp Americas RMR

16-5 (Inferno) | {cflag:BR} arT – 1.71 Rating / 24-11 K-D / 115.8 ADR

Both teams will be in action again this Monday, with the Swiss Stage presenting matches for the majority of the day. You can follow the tournament here on Pley.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"live-americas-rmr-antwerp-major","isNewTab":true}]

The first quarter-final of the day had the reliable stoic Danes of Astralis going up against the wild, crazy and talented Brazilians of FURIA.

The Bo3 kicked off on Ancient and the map-pickers of Astralis enjoyed a relatively successful T-side on what is commonly known as the most CT-sided map in the pool. After fifteen rounds they were sitting on seven, and they might have taken a couple more if it wasn’t for the ninja defuse abilities of “saffee”.

FURIA raised the tempo of the match as they hit the T-side, which netted them a small streak pushing their lead to four rounds. But FURIA soon started bleeding rounds, and like a shark in the water “k0nfig” smelt the blood of the Brazilians, and soon they were devoured as the Danes secured their map pick after a dominant CT-side.

The second map of the series was FURIA’s pick of Mirage, which they comfortably won 16-11 when they faced the Danes at IEM Katowice. They would now have to make a repeat performance to stay alive at EPL.

Maybe spurred on by the fact that they were playing for their tournament life, the Brazilian squad absolutely pummeled the Astralis defense in the early stages of the first half. The Danes started to show signs of life towards the end of the half but were not able to stop the relentless pressure of the FURIA offense, and now had to make a heroic comeback down 10-5 at halftime.

FURIA, led by IGL "arT", continued their assault after the break and impressively only allowed the Danish squad to take three more rounds before all was said and done.

The deciding map of the series was Nuke, and after a knife round win, Astralis chose to start on the CT-side.

The Danes got off to a great start on this third and final map, going up 5-1 and looking strong. That is when FURIA started abusing the upper site with rushes through lobby. Astralis struggled heavily with containing the fast plays, and whenever they did succeed, “yuurih” somehow were able to claw it back with some fantastic plays in disadvantageous positions. FURIA led by 8-7 at the break.

FURIA continued their stylish display as they completely slaughtered the Danes in the second half. The Brazilians were so dominating that they didn’t let Astralis get a single round on the T-side, and the map ended at 16-7.

FURIA - Astralis 2-1 | ESL Pro League Season 15

13-16 (Ancient) | {cflag:DK} k0nfig - 1.55 Rating / 30-17 K-D / 106.0 ADR

16-8 (Mirage) | {cflag:BR} arT - 1.77 Rating / 26-14 K-D / 106.1 ADR

16-7 (Nuke) | {cflag:BR} yuurih - 1.99 Rating / 30-10 K-D / 118.8 ADR

MVP: {cflag:BR} Yuri "yuurih" Santos - 1.33 Rating / 60-43 K-D / 89.7 ADR

k0nfig

Astralis

The 27-year-old Rafael “saffee” Costa has had an up and down tournament at ESL Pro League Season 15. The Brazilian AWP'er ended the group phase with two stellar maps against FaZe to help secure his team a direct spot in the Quarter-Finals at the event.

But earlier in the tournament, saffee found himself at the bottom of the scoreboard including a 5-25 K-D map against ENCE. 

- He is still struggling to be more comfortable. The way he plays makes it hard to set in and play at the best you can, FURIA's in-game leader Andrei "arT" Piovezan explained at a press conference. 

Rafael “saffee” Costa has only been on the team for three months, but there is much more to come from the former paiN sniper, according to arT.

- With time he is going to be more comfortable and have more confidence, so he is going to be a beast soon.

In the FURIA press conference, you can also hear Yuri "yuurih" Boian speak about how tough it was for the Brazilian roster to get used to communicating in English while Paytyn "junior" Johnson was on the team.

FURIA and saffee will play their next match at ESL Pro League later today when they face Astralis.

CS:GO is a game that can be played in a multitude of different ways. Some teams operate under more slow-paced strategies and defaults, whereas other rosters rely on the individual firepower of their players to a greater extent. Since the golden days of Astralis, it has seemed as if the calm, collected, and cohesive strategy is superior when it comes to winning CS:GO games and besting your opponents. Whilst this may be the case for the majority of CS:GO operations, FURIA introduced the entire CS:GO scene to a different way of playing Counter-Strike back in 2019. 

Proving that sometimes chaos can in fact be manipulated to fit your own playing style and advantage, FURIA introduced themselves and took everyone by surprise back in 2019. With a dangerously rifle-duo in "yuurih" and "KSCERATO" and, of course, the spearhead of the operation in "arT", it seemed as if the Brazilians had created a new way of playing Counter-Strike - a way that struck fear into the hearts of their opponents. 

[slugORMA:{"slug":"f0rest-the-most-agressive-player-has-art","isNewTab":true}]

The unique playing style of FURIA, the blind trust the players seemed to have in "arT", and his sometimes obscure and crazy strategies catapulted FURIA to the top of the professional CS:GO scene. In the later stages of 2020, FURIA peaked in the official HLTV rankings as the third-best team in the entire world. And when looking back at some of the insane highlights, produced by FURIA's IGL "arT", it is perhaps no shock that they were able to surprise even their most experienced opponents. 

Since their peak in 2020, the Brazilians of FURIA have fallen out of the top 10 rankings once again. Despite this, however, they are still standing right behind "arT" and his aggressive approach to the game. As a matter of fact, it seems as if the aggressive brainiac is only getting better with time. With the recent addition of AWP'er "saffee" and the young talent "drop", FURIA could very well be on their way to the top of the rankings once again. 

The ferocious FURIA roster is currently undefeated in their group (Group B) in the ESL Pro League Season 15 and will look to complete a perfect run in the group stage later today. A huge part of their success at ESL Pro League Season 15 has, as always, been the loose cannon in "arT". Just yesterday he reminded everyone that he is capable of turning every round on its head singlehandedly. His aggressive, chaotic, but somehow still calculated playing style netted him a crazy ACE on an eco-round. 

[twitchClip:FunCuriousTofuFailFish-B3xjZE5vh0L1uSGO]

Whether or not FURIA will continue their strong form and perhaps regain their spot in the top 10 rankings is still a question waiting to be answered. One thing, however, is for sure, no one plays CS:GO like "arT" and when he is feeling himself he is a scary beast to face. 

The current FURIA roster looks as follows: 

The second day of play in Group B at the ESL Pro League Season 15 saw FURIA lock horns with German-based Sprout. FURIA were the heavy favorites going into the Bo3-series and came straight from a 2-1 victory against Outsiders in yesterday's Bo3-series. It was also FURIA to prove themselves the stronger team, with great individual performances from star-players "KSECERATO" and "arT". In a quick manner, FURIA decapitated Sprout and joined ENCE at the top of Group B. The 2-0 victory marks the second win for FURIA at the ESL Pro League Season 15. 

The first map of the series was set to be played on Ancient and was the choice of Sprout. Ancient is the most played map for Sprout, as of recent times, and despite being a very successful map for the Brazilians it is one of their least played maps in the past three months. Despite this, however, it was FURIA to dominate from early on. A beautiful ACE from "saffee" in the first pistol-round saw FURIA embark on their dominating CT-path to an 11-4 scoreline at halftime. The second half showed a more potent and dangerous Sprout roster, with young "Staehr" delivering a great performance. Unfortunately for Sprout, however, it was too late. The 11-4 lead proved too much to come back from and FURIA closed out Ancient at the scoreline of 16-11. 

The second map of the series was Mirage and was, of course, picked by FUIRA. Mirage is one of FURIA's most dangerous maps in the official map pool. The open spaces of Mirage make for an array of creative strategies, that the Brazilians are scarily good at utilizing. This time it was the Brazilians to start on the T-side, and once again it was FURIA to secure advantage going into the second half. An impressive performance from "arT" led FURIA to a 9-6 scoreline on their T-side of Mirage. After FURIA winning the second pistol-round things looked bleak for Sprout, and they were. At 16-12, it was FURIA to take home Mirage and the Bo3-series with an impressive 2-0 victory against Sprout. 

[twitchClip:RespectfulStylishRhinocerosDuDudu-fmypscCYaC4lJIhj]

FURIA - Sprout 2-0 | ESL Pro League Season 15 (Group B)

16-11 (Ancient) | {cflag:BR} KSCERATO – 1.66 Rating / 29-14 K-D / 107.4 ADR

16-12 (Mirage) | {cflag:BR} arT – 1.50 Rating / 28-18 K-D / 96.6 ADR

MVP: {cflag:BR} Kaike ”KSCERATO” Cerato – 1.27 Rating / 45-29 K-D / 79.5 ADR

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KSCERATO

Sprout

FURIA has for many years been known for their unique and fast-paced playstyle, led by the always aggressive Andrei “arT” Piovezan. Yesterday the Brazilians squared off against arguably their biggest antipode – Virtus.pro.

In a post-match interview with ESL, arT touches on the clash of playstyles and how it is to play against.

- It’s definitely a bit frustrating to play against Virtus.pro. Because on some maps, they are very passive and to punish us by just holding angles. On Overpass, I like to play aggressive with the AWP, but I can’t because they are punishing us everywhere. So yeah, it’s quite annoying.

Despite Outsiders/Virtus.pro’s slow-paced playstyle, FURIA still managed to end up victorious in the opening round matchup from Group B at ESL Pro League Season 15.

The South American heavy hitter is now on a joint first-place together with ENCE and Vitality, before taking on Sprout at 16:00 (CET) this Thursday.

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If you aren't that familiar with Virtus.pro's playstyle, then watch this video on the alreayd-iconic VP captain, Dzami "Jame" Ali.

Jame

Virtus.pro

Looking at the world ranking through the last couple of years in CS:GO, you've always could find FURIA at the top –  and at their best also within Top 3. However, here in 2022, the Brazilian panthers initiate the season on a #27 spot.

Going into this year, FURIA has brought in the 27-year-old AWPer Rafael “saffee” Costa from paiN to fight their way back to the very top of the game. A signing, the captain and in-game leader, Andrei ”arT” Piovezan touched on in an interview with us.

- saffee is definitely a more experienced and very skilled AWPer, which is what we have been looking for since HEN1 left the team two years ago. saffee is very cool and always chilling. He’s also a person who wants to learn and listen so he definitely a nice teammate to have, arT said about his new teammate and continued:

- The way FURIA play, makes it harder for a new AWPer when he joins the team. He needs to adapt to the playstyle and the pace of the game.

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In the latter stages of 2020, FURIA, led by the always aggressive arT and the powerful AWPer of HEN1, managed to climb all the way up to a #3 place on the world ranking after winning DreamHack Open Summer, ESL Pro League Season 12 and IEM New York.

However, arT still believes they are better suited now. 

- We are way stronger with this lineup than we were ever before (…) Here in the first two months, we just need 2-3 tournaments to put the pieces together. When you get the ball rolling you need to start winning tournaments to get your confidence up – that momentum is what keeps a good team at the top.

You can watch the full interview featuring arT in the video below. In the interview, the 25-year-old IGL also touches on his personal level and why his rating has dropped significantly over the years – but also who he thinks has the best opportunity to dethrone NAVI this year.

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The last Regional Major Ranking tournament before the upcoming PGL Major has been concluded, with the Grand Final of IEM Fall North America being decided Sunday night. The victors ended up being the Brazilian Panthers from FURIA owing to a devastating 3-0 win against GODSENT in the Grand Final.

Andrei “arT” Piovezan and his troops were in control of things right from the very beginning of the Bo5 final. The aggressive Brazilians overpowered their countrymen from GODSENT time after time, round after round, which also showed through the statistics and the scoreboard. Especially FURIA’s Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato was presenting a high level of Counter-Strike, who also ended up being the standout performer in the match.

FURIA vs GODSENT (3-0) | IEM Fall NA – Grand Final

16-6 (Mirage) | {cflag:BR} KSCERATO – 1.73 Rating / 23-10 K-D / 99.5 ADR

16-14 (Inferno) | {cflag:BR} felps – 1.35 Rating / 23-22 K-D / 94.3 ADR

16-8 (Nuke) | {cflag:BR} VINI – 1.73 Rating / 26-10 K-D / 95.2 ADR

MVP: {cflag:BR} Kaike ”KSCERATO” Cerato – 1.29 Rating / 55-39 K-D / 81.5 ADR

In the other matchup at IEM Fall NA, Liquid took on the underdogs from paiN in the 3rd place decider. Liquid had not much to play for, where paiN on the other hand could secure a prestigious Legend spot in the Major, if they managed to beat Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and company.

Nonetheless, did it matter, as Liquid swept the Brazilian after losing the first map on Overpass 16-9. The 2-1 result means that Evil Geniuses earn the Legend spot for the upcoming Major, while paiN must go through the Challenger Stage.

	30 days	90 days
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arT

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