“We want trophies”: FURIA Esports’ founder Jaime Padua on the organization’s return to Siege

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All good stories have an end and that’s what happened to FURIA Esports in Mar. 2023 when the organization took the difficult but arguably smart decision of temporarily leaving the Rainbow Six Siege esports scene.

The Black Panthers’ story in Ubisoft’s FPS began in Feb. 2020 as the organization spent a whole season battling to avoid the bottom place on the Brasileirão 2022 standings. Against all of the odds, the roster qualified for the Six Invitational 2021 through the region’s closed qualifiers shortly after dodging relegation.

From one season to the other, FURIA Esports went from the bottom spots on the standings to fighting for international glory. The team’s consistency in Brazil saw them qualify for four Six Majors in a row (Mexico, Sweden, Charlotte, and Berlin) and the Six Invitational 2022.

Unfortunately, missing out on the Six Jönköping Major saw the Black Panthers dropping from the Global Standings’ Top 16. In Jan. 2023, FURIA Esports’ defeat against LOS in the LATAM SI 2023 Closed Qualifiers Grand Final meant the Brazilians would miss out on the Six Invitational 2023 too.

“When we decided to leave Rainbow Six Siege we felt that we were not supported by Ubisoft,” Jaime Padua revealed to SiegeGG in an exclusive interview in São Paulo, Brazil, during the Six Invitational 2024.

While every fan in the scene wants to see the best esports organizations investing in the scene, it’s crucial to see teams as companies. Gaming enthusiasts look at teams from an entertainment point of view, but organizations must make money while fulfilling their sports standards. If that was not the case, especially amid the current ‘esports winter’, any brand would consider exiting the scene.

“When we decided to come back to the game, we know that FURIA is a brand and we have to be a profitable team, so we can’t be a middle-table team,” Jaime Padua explained.

With the acquisition of the current world champions, FURIA Esports are making sure that the economic income is there. While this hasn’t been confirmed yet, the return of the Brazilian powerhouse should be followed by the re-release of their R6 Share cosmetics – which will probably make the cosmetics some of the most sold on the program. Keep in mind that organizations get 50% for every sale.

“When we decided to come back to the game, we thought about the whole process and we saw that they are changing a lot of things, in the structure, the operators in the game, so now we are feeling safe to come back to the game, we think it’s a smart approach,” Jaime Padua explained.

“For us, it was a no-brainer, we needed to approach them, talk about the business, talk about our relations, how can we be better at the game, and since the first chat it was special,” the Brazilian revealed.

“We really wanted to sign them as well, I can’t tell about other approaches, but we knew we had some kind of synergy between FURIA and them,” he added.

While the news has been made official today, let’s be honest: FURIA Esports’ return wasn’t the best-kept secret. Since w7m esports’ Last Dance announcement, both organizations have been exchanging mysterious tweets and posts on social media. It was one of the main storylines of the competition as the Bulls took the hammer home in their final match for the organization.

On the Ginásio do Ibirapuera stands, FURIA Esports’ Desorganizada Furiosa led the support chants for the w7m esports players. The Brazilian fans knew exactly what would happen in the upcoming weeks and the Panthers’ crowd gave the Bulls a taste of what was to come, and more importantly, what it means to wear the FURIA shirt.

“When people knew about FURIA coming back to Rainbow Six including the w7m esports team, it was like ‘it’s going to be amazing, we need you guys here!’,” Jaime explained.

FURIA Esports’ founder is well aware of what it means to be a Brazilian. For years, the region has been ignored as the majority of international competitions have been held in America or Europe. However, the recent events may change the future of not just Siege but esports in general. The Six Invitational 2024 success could be followed by more esports competitions in Brazil, home of the most passionate fans. “Here in Brazil we had some opportunities to live some big shows here, the Major in Rio do Janeiro was amazing,” Jaime explained.

Although Brazilians love competing, above all, they only think of winning. And that’s why FURIA Esports couldn’t, and can’t be, happy with a roster that just competes. The Panthers want to become the first roster that pops up in the fans’ minds once they are asked about a Rainbow Six Siege roster. FURIA Esports wants Siege’s future to be black. “We want trophies,” Jaime Padua concluded. 

Now, the question is: will FURIA Esports dominate the upcoming year of Siege, just like the players did for w7m esports? Only time will tell.