yuurih’s clutches carry FURIA past 9z at IEM Cologne

FURIA defeated 9z on the LANXESS Arena stage during the IEM Cologne Major playoffs. The victory came on Mirage, where Yuri ‘yuurih’ Santos pulled off four clutch rounds that helped secure the map for FURIA.

On the opening pistol, Santos described the round as chaotic: “Actually, it was hard, the pistol. I just went crazy, and I think I expected a guy going stairs in the 2v1, so I knew he was close. When I killed him, I knew I would win the round.”

He acknowledged errors later in the match: “But afterward, I played bad, we lost the force-buy as well. My bad.”

Santos credited his teammates for the Mirage performance, saying they “helped me a lot as well, everyone played insane.” He linked the clutches to team form and last year’s results: “About the clutches, of course, last year we had a good result because of the clutches. We were winning everything, even against Vitality. Now, we have been winning clutches again, so let’s see.”

On individual form, Santos noted his Counter-Terrorist play has been solid but that his Terrorist-side performance has been inconsistent since the start of the year. “Since the start of the year, I have been struggling on T side. For example, last year, I was the best player in the team on T side, and this year I have been struggling, so it’s been so hard for me,” he added.

FURIA will face Aurora in the next playoff round. Santos said the bracket on their side is easier than the top bracket but warned Aurora is playing well at the Major: “They are showing good CS here at the Major, so of course it will be really tough. But we know that we can win and go to the finals.”