The loan move that brought Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis to FURIA was one of the more unexpected developments this season.

The Latvian rifler recently joined the Brazilian squad on a short-term loan following the benching of skullz, stepping in as part of the team’s ongoing roster shuffle.

In a recent interview with PGL, YEKINDAR shared how the deal came together behind the scenes — and why the timing made sense for both sides.

Here’s how he explained it:

– I’m quite shocked the same way as you are, YEKINDAR admitted.

– There was a possible project I wanted to create with some certain people, and then that project got kind of delayed with some things. At that time, FURIA came in. I think there was a bit of behind-the-scenes work — maybe with my agent contacting them, or whatever — seeing the opportunity and doing his job. Shoutout Sammy (his agent).

– They came in like, ‘Yo, are you interested in a loan?’ And for me, that was the perfect opportunity, because it’s not something long-term. I also didn’t know how it was going to be — I knew KSCERATO, yuurih, and FalleN for some time, but I didn’t know how much they actually knew about CS, or how good their English was in-game. But I’m actually pleasantly surprised.

YEKINDAR joined FURIA alongside 20-year-old rifler molodoy and is currently competing at PGL Astana, which is their first event with the team.

After a rough start in the opening round, FURIA responded with a 2-1 victory over GamerLegion on Sunday and now hold a 1-1 record in the Swiss stage.

You can watch the full interview with YEKINDAR below.