FURIA have secured back-to-back grand finals after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over MOUZ, following up their triumph at Thunderpick World Championship with another strong campaign at PGL Masters Bucharest.
“I think we’re playing good individually,” Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato told HLTV when reflecting on his team’s improved form. “I think that we have the confidence and if you see the gap, you’re going to get it. And it is good sometimes, sometimes it’s bad, but this time it works. I think that we’re getting a little bit of luck as well.”
The performance of Danil “molodoy” Golubenko was also a key factor in FURIA‘s victory. James “BanKs” Banks revealed in a post-game interview that a minor surgery had helped molodoy with his eye issues, but KSCERATO told HLTV that a focus on aiding molodoy‘s confidence is also bearing fruit.
“We’re not focused much about mistakes and other shit because we want him to get confidence. And if he makes mistakes sometimes, it doesn’t matter, even though we’re going to joke about it [laughs]. But I’m very happy for him.”
You can listen to the interview here.
So first, congratulations. Back-to-back grand finals, how does it feel?
It feels good. Well, it was a hard game, actually. We won some ecos, they won some ecos, and it changed rounds. Was crazy. So I’m very happy that we took the initiative to bring it back, like Danil going out A main alone and fucking sneaking around. Bro, that’s so crazy, so crazy. This map was so crazy.
MOUZ have beaten you the last couple of times you’ve faced off. Do you think anything changed to let you get the better result today?
I think that we won many clutches, to be honest. We played good after plants as well, so that was the important key for Cache. Mirage, we fucked up many, many rounds, many micros as well, so it was hard.
On Dust2, we won many T-side rounds. We just finished with the CT half. So yeah, it was very good. They’re playing very good, it was hard to play against them. It was suffocating because every time something was happening. Also we are trading very good. yuurih won many rounds on T-side on Dust2, trading into the sites. So it was perfect.
I think that we have the confidence and if you see the gap, you’re going to get it
In general, obviously FURIA have hit a really good bit of form at the moment. You won Thunderpick, now you’ve come here and got to the final. Do you think anything changed that saw you start to play better than in the first parts of the season?
As I said, I think we’re playing good individually. When we fucked up, we fucked up individually as well. I think that we have the confidence and if you see the gap, you’re going to get it. And it is good sometimes, sometimes it’s bad, but this time it works. I think that we’re getting a little bit of luck as well.
I know it’s been talked about a lot, FURIA are very busy, lots of events, obviously often very tired. Is it maybe a bit easier mentally when you get closer to the end of the season because you’re getting close to the end, there’s not so much to go?
At the end it’s kind of hard because FalleN’s retiring in the end, so… [laughs] it’s not worth it at all. I think that we have like two more tournaments, this tournament and two more to play. No, three more, actually… it’s been a crazy schedule, to be honest. Fucking tired. Everyone’s fucking tired. Everyone’s fucking overcooked I’ll say, but we’re giving our best during the game.
We’re trying to play like on feeling, you know? We’re not.. for example, Cache, if you see how we play Cache, it’s crazy. We’re doing someone doing plays someone supporting. Overall I think we’re overcooked, but in the end FalleN’s going to retire. It’s sad, but we are giving our best.
I think that we have the confidence and if you see the gap, you’re going to get it
It seems like molodoy has kind of recaptured his form as well. He had a bit of a rough patch, but I know he had health problems. What do you think’s helped him get back to peak form?
I think the new eye was the solution. I think his confidence right now, he’s getting his confidence back. And also we are playing good around him, so I think it helps him to perform better and I’m very happy that he’s performing good. It helps us a lot because an AWPer that kills, it’s hard for them to play. But yeah, I think it’s like this.
We’re not focused much about mistakes and other shit because we want him to get confidence. And if he makes mistakes sometimes, it doesn’t matter, even though we’re going to joke about it [laughs]. But I’m very happy for him.
Last question. You’ve got Nemiga tomorrow in the grand final, what are you expecting from that final?
Well, we play against these guys for many years. They’re being like a good team to watch because they’re winning against good teams, they’re playing very good situations. They have hot aim, I’m not gonna lie. Young kids, you know? Young kids, young gang, so it’s going to be a good game. They’re playing very good, but we have to play our best.
