FURIA are through to the playoffs of the Thunderpick World Championship, earning their berth via a 2-1 win over Legacy that featured wins on Inferno (13-5) and Mirage (13-8) after a loss on Cache (10-13).
This grudge match for the title of best South American team had already been played twice this season, Legacy coming out on top at both Esports World Cup and FISSURE Playground 3.
FURIA opted to change up their veto in the search for a win against Legacy, leaving Inferno open whilst going for a Cache pick themselves. We also saw a positional switch up on Inferno, with Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo moving from his usual B support role on CT side into the rotator slot.
dumau bags an ace with a dropped AWP to clinch Cache
The game was scrappy early on Cache, the teams fighting through a multitude of force-buy rounds before Legacy stabilized to secure a 7-5 lead at the half. Legacy picked up a pistol win on their T half and ran with it to a 10-5 score, and although FURIA got their feet under them, the deficit was too much to overturn; an Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer ace on a bad buy sealed the deal and gave Legacy the lead in the series.
FURIA found much more success on the opening half of Inferno thanks to a force-buy win in the second round. Their CT side came up with opening kill after opening kill whilst FalleN made excellent rotations, and although Legacy managed to get their foot in the door mid-way through the half via Bruno “latto” Rebelatto and Santino “try” Rigal clutches, FURIA did enough for an 8-4 lead at the half. Another force-buy win set FURIA up for success on their offense, and Legacy had little to offer as FURIA romped to victory.
FalleN 1v2 helps clinch the series
FURIA’s dominance continued into the first half of Mirage, a slow-burn offense reminiscent of Dzhami “Jame” Ali suffocating and picking apart Legacy’s CT side. Legacy picked up some momentum early on their own T-side effort, but a late surge by Danil “molodoy” Golubenko combined with a vital FalleN 1v2 righted the ship and gave FURIA the series win.
With their win FURIA progress to the playoffs, whilst Legacy will have to fight for their playoff berth in a final group stage game against BETBOOM.
