The #1 contender: FURIA, the Yin and the Yang

Nobody, but nobody, expected FURIA to be the number one contender for the Major when they announced molodoy and YEKINDAR.

The move came out of left-field entirely, with the Brazilian team switching to English after all these years, FalleN moving to the rifle and for who? YEKINDAR, who struggled to make any impact on Team Liquid, and molodoy, a completely untested tier two AWPer playing for AMKAL?

As it turns out, FalleN knows more about Counter-Strike than all of us. Surprising, we know.

FalleN has shaped this team into a ridiculously well-balanced team, against all odds. There's a perfect blend of aggression and late round prowess, and a lot of that is because YEKINDAR and FalleN dovetail as an aggro duo, allowing KSCERATO and yuurih to do what they did at their peak again.

Oh, and molodoy is really, really good. He's sort of, dare we say it, a modern day FalleN. Swashbuckling, swaggering, great in the AWP v AWP matchup, capable of big moments and unwavering confidence. He's never going to be the highest rated player in the world because he goes for stuff the more consistent AWPers don't, but he's a livewire who can take over games in ways they can't too.

They are the Yin and the Yang, Justice, the balance, because their best quality is how well constructed and balanced they are in terms of roles and how the players fit together - which is an astounding feat from FalleN, given on paper the team looked like a bunch of talented misfits.

What are their credentials?

FURIA come into the Major having won three tournaments in a row. Form doesn't get any better than that. Thunderpick World Championship didn't move us immediately, but when they then went on to win IEM Chengdu and BLAST Rivals, we really began to believe.

They've had a pretty consistent climb to now being a mainstay at playoffs, and have proven they're able to win events - they ain't group stage warriors, or chokers. They're for real.

Man for man

FURIA, actually, don't have the best individuals in the world. Don't get us wrong - they're all excellent players, and worthy of being on the best team in the world, but they don't have a donk, a ZywOo, a m0NESY. They have something greater; complete cohesion of roles and styles.

KSCERATO is the closest they have to a genuine superstar. There was a period just after COVID where he was legitimately one of the best players in the world on a flailing FURIA team, and he's still ridiculously reliable. He's largely a star, but he sort of evolved out of being way too good at anchoring, and it's clear with the way he plays those roles. He makes so few mistakes, and is incredibly reliable in unreliable roles.

That's a nice base to work from.

yuurih has refound his form after what feels like years since we saw him at his best. Having a real entry duo has allowed him the space to dovetail with KSCERATO again, and it's beautiful. He's back to being the huNter- to KSCERATO's NiKo, and means the late round balance is restored.

While those two survey the perimeter, FalleN and YEKINDAR are tasked with punching holes as the pack. YEKINDAR has gone back to his Virtus.pro levels where he was a battering ram, instead of being hung out to dry on Liquid, as FalleN actually bothers to help him with utility and baiting for him or trading him. Simple stuff, but simple stuff that Liquid were not doing.

That just leaves molodoy, who is sort of allowed to do what he wants. He's arguably the best player on the team (but you can make an argument for KSCERATO or even YEKINDAR, if you wanted to), and a total X factor player. He goes where he wants and does what he wants, and that's a right he's earnt with his performances.

He isn't completely consistent, but he's never going to be. He's just the best version of what an aggressive, flashy AWPer can really be, and a reminder that you don't have to play like dev1ce or ZywOo just to have impact on the game.

Why mightn't they win, then?

Their biggest flaws are that they can be outshot by a superstar, and their AWPer isn't as consistent as someone like sh1ro. Team Spirit are a worse team, but they're in a good position to beat FURIA in a sense because they have a superstar rifler and a more solid, reliable AWPer who molodoy can't find and terminate early in the round.

Other than that, they don't have any big flaws. FalleN isn't the best rifler in the world, but he doesn't need to be. Their map pool is great, their style is well-balanced, their players are very good and they're in great form.

What are their actual chances of winning?

Honestly? Pretty high.

That's not very precise, we're aware, but predicting chances of winning an event is really difficult. They should be big favourites, though - they've won three tournaments in a row and look like absolutely the best team in the world, but you're not going to see odds that look like Vitality going into Shanghai, and we definitely would not take them versus the field.

Team Spirit are massively flawed, MOUZ refuse to win in playoffs and picking NiKo to win a Major is a hard sell. Team Vitality are a very good team, but their form is nowhere near as red hot as FURIA's.

This is, incredibly, FURIA's Major to lose.

E aí? É Molodoy ou não é?!