KSCERATO: "We need to focus individually because it is a different playstyle that we are playing right now"

"Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." An idiom that has become synonymous with FURIA, the Brazilian team has consistently been a contender for titles over the last three or four years, just to fall short or underwhelm. With the BLAST.tv Paris Major being the final one for our beautiful CS:GO, Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato and FURIA will be hoping to finally get over the line and lift a trophy in France. When it comes to their preparation, confidence, and overall mood in the team, Ryan Friend of Dust2.us got the low down from the South American superstar.

Pressure. Back at the IEM Rio Major, the pressure got to FURIA and it's understandable why considering the expectations which were set upon FURIA by the passionate Brazilian fanbase. With Imperial and 00NATION bombing out 0-3 and paiN yet to hit their stride, the hope of the nation rested upon KSCERATO and co. Losing to Heroic in the semifinal was crushing, but for the 23-year-old, that pressure that comes with being one of the best in the world is not there for this tournament.

I just feel great because I have a good life. I don't feel anything special about this year, I just want to play CS and do my best so there is nothing special for me, just that my aim is sharp.

FURIA has one of the longest-standing five-man lineups in the top tier of the scene. Adding Rafael "saffee" Costa nearly a year and a half ago, the Brazilians have persevered for a long time with the same pieces. Being led by Andrei “arT” Piovezan who has come under fire for failing to deviate from the approach that brought him his success, but has become somewhat readable for other teams. Heading into the Legends stage, KSCERATO affirmed that there has been some good preparation and even some alterations.

After the EG Black loss we changed some things and the things we put in we played the RMR and after the RMR we just needed to get some confidence and then we achieved the playoffs at IEM Rio. Now we have had some time to practice since we didn't have time to practice before that so we feel confident and I think we need to focus individually because it is a different playstyle that we are playing right now so we have to be sharper with what we are going to do.

That preparation has taken place over two continents, with KSCERATO telling Dust2.us that the team remained in Brazil for a week after their elimination from IEM Rio, talking about the tournaments and the mistakes that they made. Following those discussions, the team traveled across the Atlantic to Poland where they implemented what had been discussed. When asked about the practice they conducted in Europe, KSCERATO called jokingly called back to an infamous tweet from Brazilian legend Marcelo "coldzera" David.

Europe is hard. Europe is hard man. I think they have something like a dark room with Coca-Cola and just play CS. They are really sharp, but it is good to warm up.

FURIA will be hoping to kick off their Major campaign tomorrow with a win against European side Monte.