FURIA rallies past NAVI to reach IEM Beijing playoffs

FURIA defeated Natus Vincere 2-1 at IEM Beijing to reach the playoffs. The Brazilian team lost Ancient, recovered from a 3-9 deficit to win Nuke and took the deciding map.

The result came three days after FURIA won the PGL Masters Bucharest title. It was the team’s second consecutive trophy after its victory at the Thunderpick World Championship in Malta.

Coach Sid “sidde” Macedo credited AWPer Danil “molodoy” Golubenko with helping FURIA regain control of the series. Golubenko’s communication and leadership were particularly important during the comeback on Nuke’s Counter-Terrorist side.

“He had very good vibes, and he was helping the team with the communication,” Macedo said. “As the AWPer, it’s very important when he’s very vocal and organizes the team.”

FURIA lost 0-2 to NAVI in Bucharest. For the rematch in Beijing, the team selected a different map and used less predictable strategies. Macedo also attributed the result to FURIA’s response to previous losses.

“Every time we lose against someone, we just need to get revenge,” Macedo said. “That’s how we are. Every time we lose, it becomes personal.”

FURIA flew directly from Bucharest to China and has played two best-of-three series in Beijing. Its schedule includes BLAST Rivals in Hong Kong before the Singapore Major.

“I’m close to dead. That’s how tired I am, to be honest,” Macedo said. He added that he was still studying opponents, preparing for matches, exercising and trying to reduce the effects of jet lag.

FURIA will next face The MongolZ. Macedo noted that FURIA studies the Mongolian team’s structure while developing its own system.

“We understand a lot of their structure because we study their game a lot to build our own structure,” he said. “So there’s a lot of their game in ours.”

The MongolZ recently added cobrazera to its lineup. Macedo said the team had found an effective setup after a difficult period. He described the match as a contest between FURIA’s Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and The MongolZ’s Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren, who lead their teams in game.

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