Lucas "honda" Cano from Case was ice cold despite being situated in a tough 1v4 clutch at PGL Major Antwerp RMR Americas this Monday. 

Watch the Brazilian youngster in today's Pley of the Day!

honda

Case

The first three groups at ESL Pro League Season 14 are done and dusted and it’s now time for Group D to commence. The last group presents a mixed lineup of teams, that both contain superstar teams, talented and promising rosters, but also dangerous underdog teams. Here is everything you need to know about the teams.

Gambit comes into the tournament as one of the biggest favourites for the overall victory alongside their Russian countrymen from NAVI. The [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/nafany","isNewTab":true,"text":"Vladislav ‘nafany’ Gorshkov"}]-led side has been a forceful factor on the top of CS:GO for the entire 2021 season, with them having won no more than five big titles so far.

Their last result before the tournament break was a 5-6th place at IEM Cologne, which were the roster first big LAN event together. Despite, the rather disappointing showing at IEM Cologne, we have them as heavy favourites to take the #1 place in the group.

NIP’s exciting project build around the superstar [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/device","isNewTab":true,"text":"Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz"}] has now been around for over four months, with the now Danish-Swedish mixed roster having presented a few impressive results this year. dev1ce and company were close to winning Flashpoint 3 in May, only losing to mousesports in the Grand Final.

The Swedes are running an innovative and quite rare form of roster rotation, where we have seen the two Young Ninjas players [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/ztr","isNewTab":true,"text":"Erik ‘ZTR’ Gustafsson"}] and [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/lnz","isNewTab":true,"text":"Linus 'LNZ' Holtäng"}] switch between the fifth spot on the roster. Now, it looks like that it’s the latter who’s got the upper hand, as he will play at this EPL Season 14.

If this were two years ago, we’ve had Liquid at the very top of our predictions as the winner of the entire tournament. However, the iconic North American organization looks to be far past their prime where they ruled the entire CS:GO scene.

Their star player [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/elige","isNewTab":true,"text":"Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski"}] has continued to present an impressive consistency in his play, which also has led and carried Liquid in several periods this year. The American has alongside [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/naf","isNewTab":true,"text":"Keith ‘NAF’ Markovic"}] been the two best performing individuals in 2021. Liquid goes into EPL with an unsatisfactory 9-12th place from IEM Cologne, where they suffered two devastating 16-2 and 16-6 map losses to the Swedes from NIP.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/EliGE_oqhpl1","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: StarLadder"}]

Entropiq has been a very refreshing element in the CS:GO scene in 2021. The promising Russian roster, which plays under the Czech banner, has managed to establish themselves, as what looks like a consistent Top 20 team in the world. A fresh 1st place at Malta Vibes Knockout Series 1 and a silver medal at Spring Sweet Spring 3 show that Entropiq is a very potent team.

However, as their tournament calendar also shows. It’s not many top-tier events they are competing in, which means their experience and knowledge with the top teams aren’t that big. And that may also look like their biggest weakness here at ESL Pro League.

The Brazilian Panthers from FURIA has begun to look rather tame and harmless lately. The otherwise strong and dominant team led by the always aggressive [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/art","isNewTab":true,"text":"Andrei ‘arT’ Piovezan"}] is no longer feared by the CS:GO elite after a disappointing year so far. Despite their recent win at Elisa Invitational Summer, they have not accomplished anything particular, especially if you compare with their phenomenal 2020-season or the year before that.

FURIA’s chances at this ESL Pro League was reduced heavily when the South American organization announced that [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/honda","isNewTab":true,"text":"Lucas ‘honda’ Cano"}] wouldn’t travel to Europe with the rest of the team, owing to his mother getting tested positive for Covid-19. This means that FURIA will play with their head coach Nicholas “guerri” Nogueira as a stand-in.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"guerri-stand-furia-epl","isNewTab":true}]

At the bottom of Group D, we predict that TeamOne will be found when the group stage is over. The Brazilian team actually possess a very exciting and talented roster with interesting players like [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/malbsmd","isNewTab":true,"text":"Mario ‘malbsMd’ Samayoa"}] and [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/pesadelo","isNewTab":true,"text":"Matheus ‘pesadelo’ Panisset"}] as their most powerful weapons.

The strong duo of malbsMd and pesadelo together with the veteran in-game leader Pedro "Maluk3" Campos will have a lot of possibilities to make some upsets at Group D, however, they will most likely still end out of playoff contention. Something, their last showing at ESL Pro League Season 13 also indicates, where they lost all five group games.

nafany

device

pesadelo

malbsMd

Gambit Esports

Ninjas in Pyjamas

Team Liquid

Entropiq

FURIA

TeamOne

On Monday, the Brazilian organization revealed that André “drop” Abreu would be promoted from FURIA Academy to take honda’s spot on the main roster. But now, the head coach of FURIA, Nicholas “guerri” Nogueira has announced that FURIA will play one final event with honda at ESL Pro League Season 14 because their emergency transfer request to field their new addition got rejected.

FURIA and honda will take upon the Entropiq squad who just won Malta Vibes, on September 1 at 16:45 (CET) for their opening match of Group D in ESL Pro League Season 14.

FURIA’s roster for EPL looks as follows:

Nicholas “guerri” Nogueira (head coach)

drop

FURIA Academy

There is still no solution to FURIA's fifth-man problem. Since the departure of Henrique 'HEN1' Teles in December last year, the Brazilian team has tried different players. Most notable was the signing of Paytyn 'Junior' Johnson, who joined the team in January 2021. The American AWP'er never really settled in and was benched at the start of June. 

[slugORMA:{"slug":"junior-benched-furia","isNewTab":true}]

Lucas '⁠honda' Cano stepped in, but now the young Brazilian has been put on the sideline as well. Furia confirmed the news to the [link:{"url":"https://ge.globo.com/esports/csgo/noticia/csgo-furia-utilizara-drop-na-vaga-de-honda-na-pro-league.ghtml","isNewTab":true,"text":"Brazilian outlet ge"}], and stated that they were still actively searching for a new fifth player. For ESL Pro League, the Brazilians will try out their academy player André 'drop' Abreu. The change needs to be confirmed by ESL as an emergency transfer request, as 'drop' was not part of Furia's lineup for the tournament.

Junior

Roles have changed on the FURIA roster after the benching of AWP'er Paytyn "Junior" Johnson.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"junior-benched-furia","isNewTab":false}]

In an interview with Pley.gg, in-game leader Andrei “arT” Piovezan talks about the new mindset, that he needs to approach the game with after he is now the main AWP'er on the team.

- I have more responsibility on my back. I have to think more about my actions. As an AWP'er you need to be the anchor and stay alive to support. So that is the mindset, that I need to change for some setups on different maps, the Brazilian explains.

It will be interesting to see how it will work out for FURIA. Statistics wise "arT" is the most aggressive player in Counter-Strike history. Throughout his career, he has been involved in the most opening duels of all players. The aggressiveness will now have to be transferred to the rest of the FURIA players.

- They have more responsibility to take map control and take action, which is kind of hard for them to do because they are used to me doing all that. So it is definitely an adaption period for us, the 25-year-old FURIA player says.

You can see the interview below, where you can also hear, what it will mean for FURIA, that they can now talk in Portuguese again, after Lucas "honda" Honda joined the roster.

After a long time of lackluster performances, the American AWP'er Paytyn "

The coach of FURIA, Nicholas "⁠guerri⁠" Nogueira, stated in a video, that the decision was made after the American had asked to return home after a tough month, where the AWP'er had averaged only a 0.89 rating.

The Brazilian coach emphasized the language barrier outside the server as a problem. The Academy player Lucas "⁠honda⁠" Cano will join the roster as a fifth man instead. honda made his debut for FURIA in January, where he made three aces against G2 at the BLAST Premier Global Finals.

It has been announced that FURIA's new signing Paytyn "junior" Johnson will have his debut at the IEM Katowice main event. FURIA's head coach Nicholas "guerri" Nogueira confirmed the statement in an interview with MGG Brasil. Whilst, being signed precisely a month ago, "junior" is yet to have competed with his new teammates due to passport issues. 

To fill his shoes, FURIA's sixth member Lucas "honda" Cano has competed with the roster instead of "junior" at the past two events. You can read more about FURIA's signing of "junior" here: 

 [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/news/junior-becomes-furias-new-awper/"}]

"junior" is the only player on the roster who is not Brazilian and whilst he has managed to participate in the team's training sessions online from his home in North America, the language barrier has meant some changes for the Brazilian roster. Head Coach "guerri" states that the team has had to start from scratch: 

"Everyone is getting out of their comfort zone. We renamed every spot on every map. It's an ongoing process. It's a step back, there are a lot of things happening. We are switching a player, we are using a new language to communicate, one that is not our native language."

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"teams/Furia/Copyright_-_Carlton-Beener-_Furia_ujrzwr","originalWidth":3840,"originalHeight":2160,"cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: Carlton Beener ESL","alt":"CS:GO, Counter-Strike, Furia"}]

The main tournament of IEM Katowice is set to take place on February 18-21, where the North American sniper "junior" will have the chance to prove himself for the first time. 

FURIA’s newest pick to the roster are still facing passport and document issues and they are therefore set to once again utilize Lucas “honda” Cano in their next tournament at the cs_summit 7 event.

The 20-year-old Brazilian played for FURIA in BLAST Premier Global Final and averaged a 0.80 rating over six maps, with the team losing to G2 and Evil Geniuses which send them home packing with a last-place finish. honda still managed to prove that he can deliver against the very best and most notably scored three aces in his debut.

Because of junior’s absence, captain Andrei “arT” Piovezan ended up being the one to fill the AWP role which limited his playmaking ability and was the reason we didn’t see the FURIA squad with the style and approach to the game that they are used to.

honda and company will battle it out with seven Top 20 teams in the world at the $200.000 tournament that is set to run from January 25-31. The event will start with a bo3 GSL group stage that will determine which teams advance to the single-elimination playoff stage.

Watch honda’s three aces at BLAST Premier Global Final right here:

BLAST Premier Global Final 2020 was set to be the first event of the 2021 season and was, therefore, an event that many people, during the break, have looked forward to. With the best teams from all over the world competing in the $1 million tournament it has not failed us one bit. 

The extremely high level of competition has brought us intense BO3-series, funny moments, and of course, eleven aces. And all of that is without the final day of play. Take a look at all eleven aces that this event has provided us with so far. 

Boombl4

apEX

ZywOo

Ethan

FalleN

Natus Vincere

The first day of BLAST Premier Global Final offered two thrilling matchups, presenting both phenomenal kills, strong performances and funny encounters. The first day gave also some interesting talking points, for example, the potential rise of a new CS:GO meta. Take a look at some of the talking points right under the results. 

Astralis vs Evil Geniuses | 2-1 | Inferno (14-16) - Overpass (16-8) - Vertigo (16-6)

G2 vs FURIA | 2-1| Inferno (16-12) -  Mirage (14-16) - Nuke (16-10)

Try to imagine your very first tier-1 match, being against the likes of Nikola “NiKo” Kovac and Kenny “kennyS” Schrub, and then just to ace it only equipped with a deagle. It sounds like a dream, but it was exactly what FURIA’s newcomer Lucas “honda” Cano did yesterday against G2. 

The Brazilian youngster didn’t appear to be particularly nervous or shaky, even though it was his first match for the Brazilians. In fact, honda made it look so east and effortless, presenting no other than 3 aces against the French-Balkan mixed top team.

Watch the two other aces from the 20-year old talent right here:

[link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/news/incredible-debut-from-furias-honda/"}]

An interesting talking point from the match between Astralis and Evil Geniuses was Astralis’ usages of AUG. The Danes rolled out a persistent triple AUG set-up, using the scoped weapon on all three maps. The set-up worked out strong, giving Astralis a clear edge against the American team. Especially Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth shined while being equipped with the AUG, with Xyp9x leading the charges by averaging a great 1.26 Rating throughout the series.

[twitchClip:AmorphousSolidPistachioAMPEnergy]

Nikola “NiKo” Kovac was once again the saving grace for his side when the Bosnian and the rest of G2 clashed against FURIA in the opening round. The extraordinary rifler took matters in his own hands and dismantled the Brazilians time after time. In three close maps, NiKo took his team on his shoulders, securing the much-needed win for his team.

The Bosnian superstar has only once again proved, that signing him back in October was an outstanding decision by the iconic organization, even though it required an allegedly “historic” transfer fee.  

The second day of BLAST Premier Global Final starts at 13:30 (CET), with the matchup against Vitality and Complexity. 

NiKo

Xyp9x

Astralis

Evil Geniuses

G2 Esports

Furia, without their new AWP’er Paytyn “junior” Johnson, had to field one of their young academy players to fill the lineup to the match. Passport problems for the American postpone his debut. Instead, the 20-year-old Lucas “honda” Cano was thrown into action. The Brazilian got perhaps the best start, that any players have ever had on their debut in a top tier match.

“honda” made two aces within the first four rounds on Inferno. An incredible start!

Furia took the lead at halftime 8-7. But at their T-side everything fell apart. Nikola “NiKo” Kovac proved once again, that he will be a key player for the ambitious G2 team in 2021. G2 won Inferno 16-12.

G2 picked Mirage as their map pick. Here an incredible even and well-contested battle took place. Both teams were playing to their own strengths. Furia played with their fast-paced “w” gameplay, while G2 was trying to keep up and maintain map control.

At 14-13 in favor of G2, the young “honda” was put to the ultimate test. A 1 vs 1 situation against nexa would almost seal the deal for G2 if the Brazilian failed.

[twitchVideo:blastpremier/clip/AmorphousNaiveJalapenoRedCoat]

The clutch gave Furia the last push to a victory on Mirage.

The third map started with another honda highlight!

[twitchVideo:blastpremier/clip/BeautifulStormyPicklesBudStar]

The excellent start to the third map didn’t follow through for the Brazilians. Their gameplay was suffering from both VINI and arT not performing to their standards. On the other side, NiKo was making shots like these.

During their CT-side G2 managed to make successful retakes five times during the first half. After the break, the NiKo vs arT duel continued on the outside, and almost every time the Bosnian came out victorious paving the way for his teammates to establish a commanding lead. The Europeans took home the map and match with a 16-10 win on Nuke.

G2 will face Astralis in the next round, while Furia will play Evil Geniuses in an early elimination match tomorrow.

With two aces in the first half on Inferno, Lucas "honda" Cano has been on fire on his debut for Furia.

The 20-year-old Brazilian is acting as a stand-in for Furia's new AWP'er Paytyn "junior" Johnson. The American could not travel to Europe in time for the BLAST Premier Global Finals due to passport issues.

But right now all of that is forgotten. Just look at the stats from honda's first half.

On Nuke the young Brazilian made another ace! An unbelievable debut!

Lucas “honda” Cano has just had four days of practice with the main squad at the bootcamp after FURIA added him as a sixth player and made him the fourth player in the organizations history to be promoted from the academy team.

The 20-year-old will make his debut against NiKo and company in the first round of BLAST Premier Global Finals at 19:30 (CET). Facing a top team like G2 could be very nerve-racking for a player like honda who is inexperienced on the big stage against top-tier teams, but FURIA’s captain Andrei “arT” Piovezan has faith in his skill and states that the team will not put undue pressure on him.

“Honestly, I’m a very confident person, and I think honda will be able to perform well. We keep telling him that there’s no need to feel pressure because we don’t depend on him to win a tournament or a match. If he contributes obviously it’ll be impactful, but we are playing as a team,” the FURIA captain said in an interview with HLTV.org.

“I can say for sure that honda will be kind of an arT 2.0, he’s going to be the kid who’ll help the team by entering bombsites first and being very aggressive. It’s the way he plays, so we can’t use him much differently. In my opinion, he joined the team to share this responsibility to be aggressive with the AWP. When you have guys who can trade, like yuurih and KSCERATO, there’s no need to change that.”

The 20-year-old prospect will be playing instead of Paytyn “junior” Johnson as the American AWPer faced passport issues and couldn’t travel to Serbia to join FURIA’s bootcamp.

20-year-old honda has been moved to the main squad from the academy lineup as a sixth player, the organization has announced. He will replace Paytyn “junior” Johnson in the BLAST Premier Global Final as the American AWPer faced passport issues. honda has already traveled to Europe with the rest of the Brazilian squad.

honda becomes the fourth player to be promoted to the main squad just a month after he was picked up by the Academy because of his impressive time at the DETONA Pound camp.

FURIA will face off NiKo and company from G2 in their first matchup at the BLAST Premier Global event, which is scheduled for January 19. The double-elimination tournament will have $1 million up for grabs.

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honda

Player stats

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