Banner Image: Ubisoft / João F. @itsmeERROR
On Apr. 14, 2022, FURY’s 1-7 defeat against Elevate was the team’s seventh consecutive loss in the first split of the APAC League South. It meant the Thai squad would head to the second stage of the season with zero points.
In just six months, FURY turned the tables and qualified for the Six Jönköping Major. Although the team was quickly sent home after being drawn into the same group as w7m esports, Team BDS, and Spacestation Gaming, playing in Sweden was a huge bust of confidence for the Thai roster.
According to Sillapakorn “Lycolis” Dokmaikhaw, the addition of Sumate “i9” Srimabut was the first stone towards showing clear signs of improvement. The former Elevate player joined the team alongside his former teammate Sirasit “BGMan” Ariyasirisopol. “It was the beginning of a lot of change inside the team,” the Thai shared in a pre-Six Invitational 2024 interview with SiegeGG.
Following FURY’s qualification for Jönköping, the team added the 18-year-old Kritsanai “KritJ” Saemsub “for more firepower.” Finally, FURY’s new roster was completed. However, just eight days later, Bleed Esports’ announced what was considered to be Asia’s super team mixing Patrick “MentalistC” Fan and Wu “Reeps96” Weichen with a bunch of inexperienced but highly talented players.
As expected, the initial stage of the SEA League began with an outstanding flawless run by Bleed Esports. Meanwhile, FURY’s slow end to the split saw them finishing in fifth place, which dropped them to the Asia League 2023 Stage 1 Open Qualifiers.
Fortunately for the Thai squad, the roster had no problems in reaching the Asia League 2023 Stage 1. Following a one-sided victory against Shaheens, the orange roster clashed with Bleed Esports in a crucial match for both teams as only the winner would qualify for the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta. Against all of the odds, the Thai roster became the first team to beat Bleed Esports in an official match.
In Denmark, the team was drawn into Group A, alongside MNM Gaming, SANDBOX Gaming, and Team Falcons. However, following the team’s defeat against the South Koreans and the marshmallow’s unexpected loss against the green roster, the Thai squad was quickly put between a rock and a hard place.
However, FURY left a great impression in that match as they won the initial map of the series. Unfortunately, the Asians were sent back home after losing on Chalet and Oregon.
Five months later, the South Asia League 2023 Stage 2 kicked off. This time, FURY directly qualified for the Asia League 2023 Stage 2 after finishing in second place, only behind Bleed Esports. Despite losing against the red roster during the regular phase, the Thai squad defeated them in the Asia League 2023 Stage 2 Grand Final. Once again, FURY took the region’s first seed.
Before the start of the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta, the Bleed Esports player Taylor “Terdsta” Ching praised FURY as he admitted than “FURY is better than us.” Luckily for the region, both teams will be in Brazil.
Regarding the team’s form when it comes to BO3 matches, Lycolis was sincere. “Even in the team we can feel that we are doing better in BO3,” he explained. “I think BO3 gives us more opportunities to play our good maps and neutral maps and more time to adjust to the team that we are facing.”
FURY’s American Dream in Atlanta began with a 3-7 defeat against the Six Invitational 2023 champions G2 Esports. However, the team’s first international victory followed as they won against Knights by 2-0. If the Thai won against DarkZero Esports in the final match of the lower bracket, they would move to Atlanta’s Phase 2.
Unfortunately, the match followed the same script as the one seen against MNM Gaming. After winning the first map of the series, the team was sent home after two harsh defeats.
“I think what happened in both games is we made a critical mistake in most of the important situations that could lead us to a win,” Lycolis explained. “I believe with these experiences and practice everyone could react and do what is the best of all in those situations better.”
Considering FURY’s results in BO3 matches, the team’s fans may feel some excitement when looking at the Six Invitational 2024 format. Since 2022, no edition has had BO1 matches. On paper, this could boost the team’s chances to survive the initial group stage.
FURY’s Six Invitational 2024 group includes Soniqs, LOS, SCARZ, and Team Falcons, which arguably is the weakest group of the four. “It’s not a group of death but, in the end, we do our practice and hope to perform our best in the event.”
The last time a Thai squad made it out of the initial group stage was Elevate at the Six Invitational 2022, where they reached an impressive 12th - 9th place. Back then, i9 was playing for the red and black roster. According to Lycolis, his experience allows i9 to “give us advice.”
Following the conclusion of the Six Invitational 2024, the team will start focusing on the upcoming season, which will start on Mar. 11. However, the Asian region has been hit with the decision to reduce their international representation in the Six Major from two to just one team.
“Reducing the slot from South Asia is unexpected for me,” he admitted. “Reducing a slot from Korea and Japan is understandable.”
With only one international spot, ping differences between the teams in the region, and tough competition between FURY and Bleed Esports, the upcoming Asia League could be a controversial one. Only time will tell.