FURIA was pushed to the limit against 9z in their return to the major playoff stage at IEM Cologne on Thursday. The Brazilian squad was forced to come from behind, dropping Dust 2 in stunning fashion, before rallying to complete a reverse sweep.
Between a mini-comeback on Mirage that included several back-to-back clutches to accelerating the pace on Overpass, FURIA pulled out all the stops to put away 9z and progress to the team's first major semifinal since Rio in 2022.
At the head of the pack was KSCERATO, who admitted mistakes cost the team big time in the quarterfinal. Speaking to DFRAG following the win, he outlined what it took to secure the win and about what it will take to keep their form up ahead of Saturday's semifinal against Aurora.
FURIA is now Cologne Major semifinalists. How's the feeling in the camp, were you happy with how you played against 9z in that opener?
"It feels great, the last time the rookies played for the same final major was in IEM Rio, so it's been a while, it's been four years for now.
"Actually, yeah, something like that. But it feels great. It's a good achievement for us to be confident in these matches. I'm pretty happy with the game."
How would you rate FURIA's performance so far in Cologne? You guys ended strong last year with the new roster, then things mellowed out in 2026 in the lead-up.
"Right now we're good. I think we f**ked up some things in this showing against 9z but also we won some really important clutches from all of us, so it was very important.
"I think we are confident enough to win our semifinal, then onto the the whole tournament. We're just taking it step by step, our focus is Aurora, and what comes, comes. That's one thing that my father used to say to me: whoever wants to be at the table cannot choose who they're going to play against."
To see a Latin American squad come this far at the major, how big of a showing was this from the 9z squad? How did it feel playing another South American rival on the biggest stage of all?
"Honestly, this game against 9z was the toughest game we played at the major right now after the 3-0 on the third stage. On Dust 2, we got humiliated."
"[9z] is playing very good, and we're very happy about [another] South American team playing this strong and qualifying for the playoffs as well. Unfortunately, they didn't beat us, but fortunately we beat them!
"It feels good though, I'm happy for them. I think they're playing very good. If they keep this strength in the way they are playing, I think they're a very nice team."
Stay tuned to dfrag.gg and our revamped YouTube channel for more coverage of the IEM Cologne Major, live from the Cathedral of Counter-Strike itself.
Interview conducted by N3bu1a. Edited and published by Nicholas "Taffy" Taifalos
