Image: Ubisoft/Joao F.
FURIA made their BR6 debut at the beginning of 2020 with a roster that immediately struggled. Stage 1 ended with a 0-3-6 record, followed by 2-1-6 Stage 2, but they managed to fight off relegation at the end of the year.
At the beginning of 2021, two roster changes brought Fntzy into the fray, but and the team has been as solid as a rock ever since.
The same core that had fought off relegation -- Miracle, h1ghs, and LENDA -- qualified for the Six Invitational 2021 via the open qualifier, where they knocked out DarkZero and fell just short of the top-eight, thanks to Team BDS. The same five then went to the Mexico Major, where they went one step better and became quarter-finalists, but were again eliminated by BDS.
Fntzy, h1ghs, and Miracle at the 2021 Six Invitational
2021 ended with FURIA attending their third event in a row, which is where their slump started. While they were in a particularly hard group -- with Team Empire, DWG KIA, and Spacestation Gaming -- they exited in last place with a 0-2-0-4 record. They then missed out on the top eight at SI 2022, with none other than DarkZero knocking them out.
These two weak results forced a change in FURIA after a year of consistency. Handyy and Stk joined to replace two of the team’s original players, leaving just Miracle from the 2020 relegation game. At the Charlotte Major, they only managed a top 12 finish, but this was while playing from Mexico City and connecting online to the event venue.
FURIA will now play at the Berlin Major next week, the team’s sixth consecutive event. Reaching six in a row is a remarkable achievement that shows a level of domestic consistency rarely seen. For comparison, the next highest currently is Oxygen on four, while the other teams that had a longer event streak than FURIA -- DZ and BDS -- missed out on this event.
In total, only seven teams in R6 history have had longer event streaks, two of which are from LATAM, and six of seven have won international events before.
Every team with a prior event streak of five or more. Highlighted are those with prior titles.
While every team in attendance will aim for the title, FURIA’s first step will be to get back to where they were a year ago -- the top eight. Considering their handicap in Charlotte, they may have already had the tools to do so with the addition of Stk and Handyy, but they’ve brought in a new and special weapon anyway; Julio.
The Six Invitational champion, as well as Six Invitational, Six Major, and Pro League Finals runner-up, joined from Ninjas in Pyjamas to take up his very first coaching role at the beginning of this stage. While his coaching experience is limited, he is tied as the most successful player in Brazil and is the only member of the very young team with any success at the top.
Luckily for FURIA, their experience contrasts perfectly against their three group stage opponents as Astralis, Elevate, and MNM Gaming all compete in only their second-ever events. This is not to say this is an easy group -- Astralis are likely the favourites to win the event and Elevate had the same Six Invitational finish as FURIA -- but it’s a factor that will likely come into play next week.
While they have never won a BR6 stage before, FURIA are masters of consistency in Brazil. Now with DZ and BDS, their biggest hurdles at prior events, not present, their path to global success seems clear and ready in front of them.