Lucas “Honda” Cano has been announced as the sixth player of the FURIA Esports CS:GO roster, with the Brazilian having been announced by the organization on Thursday. The 20-year-old has been promoted from the FURIA academy roster and is expected to make his debut as soon as next week.
Honda will act as stand-in for Paytyn “Junior” Johnson at the BLAST Premier Global Finals, with the American being unable to compete due to issues with his passport. Honda has become the third player to have been promoted from the FURIA academy lineup, with Vinicius “VINI” Figueiredo and Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato having already made the step up.
Why FURIA Has Added Honda to Its Main Lineup
FURIA moved quickly upon learning that fellow new arrival Junior would not be in a position to compete under their banner at the BLAST Premier Grand Finals, with the AWPer having only recently joined the organization from Triumph Gaming. Junior built his reputation at teams including Team Divine, Lowkey Esports and Recon 5, having began his CS:GO career with Hot Ass back in 2018. Junior is the only non-Brazilian player at FURIA, with the rest of their lineup being dominated by Brazilians.
The decision to sign Junior came following the benching of Henrique “HEN1” Teles last week. The move by FURIA to add a sixth player to its roster see’s the organization follow in the footsteps of Astralis, Natus Vincere and Vitality, who have all seen their results improve off the back of this strategy. As a result, Honda is expected to remain with the main FURIA lineup even after the upcoming BLAST Premier Global Finals.
When Will Fans See Honda & FURIA in Action?
FURIA have been drawn against G2 Esports in the first round of the event next week. Meanwhile, the CS:GO team are also currently preparing for the IEM Katowice World Championship, an event in which they have been invited directly too. FURIA currently find themselves at no.2 in the North American Regional Major Rankings, which would of course see them claim a Legend Status spot if they can retain it.