^{(Banner image: Ubisoft / Joao Ferreira)}

FURIA Esports’ 2021 campaign began with an international debut at the Six Invitational 2021, after narrowly avoiding being relegated to Serie B. But now, at the end of 2021, the Brazilians are one of the only eight sides to have competed in any post-pandemic. LAN tournament.

Although they can not turn their international regularity into trophies, it is undeniable that FURIA – and Brazil as a whole – have developed and perfected their style. We are probably talking about the dynasty of a region, and not the dynasty of a single team as before.

Overall, FURIA Esports played a largely flawless Stage 3h. Everyone understood their roles, and the team focused on fixing their mistakes, such as “dream mistakes” and “entry deaths”, as Luiz Augusto “Miracle” Da Silva Abrantes explained in an interview with SiegeGG just before CES Stage 3.

However, it was Diogo “Fntzy” Lima who led the charge in the game during the third split. “My teammates’ performance makes it easier for me to give my best,” Fntzy said in an interview with SiegeGG.

The Brazilian player broke many records, where his match against INTZ was his best performance in a professional game so far: 22 deaths in a match with nine rounds while he received the highest SiegeGG rating in a BO1 match (2.73) and it highest ever CPR (2.44).

“I was relaxed, everything went well, then I saw the statistics and realized what I was just doing,” said Fntzy.

While it is always a virtue to have such a fragger in your team, there is a risk of falling into the trap of relying on the weapon power of the abdomen as a crutch. It’s rare that he does not perform, but when he played the CES Stage 3 semifinals against the FaZe Clan, his inefficiency in securing deaths was one of the reasons why the team cost a possible first Grand Final appearance.

“In our match against the FaZe Clan, we made a lot of mistakes. We peeked when we didn’t have to. We should have played more passively, let them perform their attacks more, and we ended up injuring ourselves on both maps,” said Fntzy.

The 18-year-old is the man of the moment in Brazil, as he received the highest rating from SiegeGG in BR6 Step 3 (1.33), and received the highest number of deaths (114) in any of the three BR6 2021 parts. You would have to go back to the LATAM Pro League in season 10 to find the last non-liquid or NiP player to get the highest rating – and that was November 2019.

“I think consistency comes from having more experience in international competitions, we have now played quarter-finals, semi-finals … everything helps to improve,” explained Fntzy, adding that he thinks the key behind his stage 3 performance has been consistency. . and experience.

Probably FURIA Esports have been drawn into what is considered the “group of death”, as all their opponents were the best of their respective regions on the Mexico Major. DWG KIA was the best APAC representative, SSG – along with DZ – were the best performers from NA, while Team Empire reached the grand final.

“It’s probably the toughest group in the tournament because we play Spacestation Gaming and Empire, and DWG surprised us with their aggressiveness. So it’s a difficult group,” said Fntzy.

The Brazilian seems to be aware of the Koreans’ potential, as the APAC team surprised everyone with a quarter-final in Mexico after beating NiP twice. At the same time, FURIA will play against SSG for a third and a fourth time, after facing each other in Mexico. There, the Brazilians won the first match (8-7) and lost the second (5-7).

In the case of the Empire, FURIA lost to the Russian power package at SI 2021 (4-7). Brazilians’ results against European law leave much to be desired and may once again be a cause for concern. Against EU teams, FURIA has lost six maps and won four after meeting G2 Esports, Natus Vincere and BDS. The Brazilians were knocked out of both SI 2021 and Mexico Major by the French team, but the players are hungrier than ever for revenge. The third time is the charm?

“Yes, I want to face BDS again, I’m more confident than ever,” Fntzy said.

FURIA Esports first day of the competition will see them face Spacestation Gaming and DWG KIA in what could be two very important matches for the “death group” final.