Interview With FURIA’s yuurih, Ahead of ESL Pro League S19

Ahead of ESL Pro League S19, I had the pleasure of interviewing Yuri “yuurih” Boian from FURIA Esports. Here’s what we talked about.

1. After six years, your IGL, arT, was benched. How long do you think it will take for kye to be fully integrated?

It will take some time because it’s not just the new player. We also changed our IGL, and FalleN thinks in a different way. His approach requires us to play a different tempo. So far, we’ve had around two weeks of practice. But it will take longer for our team to become fully integrated.

Kye is playing well but the change required me to start playing different roles now. This means that more work will be required before we’re comfortable. We’re doing well and making progress but more time will be needed.

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— FURIA USA 🇺🇸 (@FURIA_USA) April 30, 2024

2. What are your expectations at this event? Can FURIA qualify for the playoffs?

Looking at our recent practice sessions, I think we can advance to the playoffs. We are confident that we can finish the group in the top four but we’ll have to see.

3. Who do you think will be the toughest team to beat in your group?

Liquid. They’ve had a lot of time to practice, so I think they’re in good shape at the moment.

5. What do you think about the triple-elimination format?

Yes. I watched for instance G2’s group. And they lost two times but still qualified. I think it’s more comfortable to play like this, knowing that you can lose twice and still make it through. Also, the best-of-three format allows you to play more maps and that’s always fun.

6. Are you happy with the MR12 format and with the game’s current economy? From the outside, it feels like the winner of the pistol round gets a huge advantage. Do you think that’s balanced or would you make any adjustments?

I like the MR12 format. And if the T side plants the bomb, even if they lose the pistol round, they still have a lot of money. But still, winning the pistol round often gives you three rounds plus a lot of money, and that’s a big advantage.

8. How is CS2 evolving? Do you think it has improved a lot since its release? Are you satisfied with its current state or is it still full of bugs?

I think it’s getting better. But there is one thing they still need to fix. It is the combination of smoke and molotov. When you go out of the smoke and there’s a molotov, you can stay there without taking damage and just kill everyone. It’s a bug and everyone knows about it. Valve should fix it as soon as possible.

9. Did the players have any input in the team’s decision to sign kye?

Yes. We made the decision as a group. He was the best player we could have signed.

Header: PGL