In an interview during the BB Mansion Cup, FURIA Esports superstar KSCERATO quoted one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, Ayrton Senna: "It's always harder for Brazilians."

FURIA is under unprecedented pressure. Nearly seven years have passed since dominating the scene in 2016 and 2017. Although FURIA and KSCERATO almost won Brazil's third CSGO Major at the 2022 IEM Rio Major, they ultimately fell short.

However, KSCERATO hopes to bring a Major trophy to Brazil before transitioning to an international team.

"I want to win my first world championship for Brazil. This is something I wanted to do since I watched FalleN play when I was young. This is not just my dream, but also the dream of my teammates, my brothers, and friends who have been with me on this journey."

The pain of defeat is indescribable

Following the IEM Rio Major at the end of 2022, FURIA's struggles intensified in 2023 and 2024, with more fans complaining that FURIA players seemed indifferent to winning or losing. With constant CS tournaments, it felt like players were moving from one event to another without caring about the results.

The reality is quite the opposite. The pain of defeat likely hurts KSCERATO more than most fans because he has a great memory that allows him to recall everything that happened in a match without watching the demo. We can imagine the trouble this brings him when trying to sleep.

"My brain keeps replaying the match until I find an answer (like why things went wrong). When I can't find an answer, I turn to those around me. It's complicated; no one likes to lose. Even in rock-paper-scissors, people don't like to lose."

Feels not in peak condition

Many analysts and commentators hope KSCERATO will transfer abroad because he is in his prime and shouldn't waste his time at FURIA. However, KSCERATO believes he hasn't reached that stage yet.

"I'm not worried about wasting my peak because I don't feel I'm at the top yet."

According to HLTV statistics, KSCERATO's rating in offline tournaments in 2024 is 1.18, his impact is 1.19, and his ADR is 81.4. These numbers show that KSCERATO is an outstanding rifler, especially considering FURIA hasn't won consecutive championships this year. The Brazilian believes he will get better in the coming years.

"I'm not afraid of wasting my so-called peak period because I don't think I'm in my golden age. I think I'm just starting, and I have a lot of room for improvement. I'm still young, only 24 years old. Nowadays, players can maintain excellent performance even as they age, thanks to psychologists and physiotherapists. I love CS; it's the game I play the most, and I probably have around 50,000 or 60,000 hours of gameplay."

Support from FURIA coaching staff

FURIA made significant adjustments during the offseason. Former head coach guerri became the head of esports, and assistant coach sidde took over as head coach. FURIA also hired two foreigners, innersh1ne and Lucid, as many fans had hoped. In KSCERATO's view, all these changes are positive.

"It's very cool that innersh1ne and Lucid can notice things that a coach might miss during a match because the coach has to watch five monitors at the same time. They can spot small details and map out the timeline of an entire round, accurately pointing out where and when something went wrong. They also bring us new things, making our playstyle harder to predict. As for sidde, he is a hardworking and good coach. During his time as an assistant coach, he learned a lot from guerri and got to know all of us. So, it's really great to work with them."