FURIA C0M on making playoffs: "Most people would just give up at 0-5"

FURIA completed one of the biggest turnarounds of VCT Americas Stage 2 by reaching the playoffs after going winless throughout the Group Stage. Following an 0-5 record, the Brazilian organization entered the Play-In under even greater pressure but managed to respond with three consecutive wins and secure its place in playoffs after winning against Evil Geniuses.

In an exclusive interview with Sheep Esports on Friday, August 21th, Corbin "C0M" Lee reflected on the resilience that allowed FURIA to overcome its difficult start and discussed the internal changes that helped the team regain its confidence. The Initiator also explained why Arthur "artzin" Araujo return to the in-game leader role allowed him to focus more on his individual game and discussed FURIA’s potential to reach Champions.

Corbin "C0M" Lee: I feel very good. We’ve definitely gone through a lot in a short amount of time, and seeing all the hard work of the people behind the scenes kind of pay off is very nice to see, honestly. It’s a lot of resilience. I think most people would just give up at 0-5, but I saw a lot of people work even harder from that point, so I respect it.

C0M: I’m always trying to help in the mid-round or even at the start of the round, layering utility because I’m the Initiator. The whole decision came when I told them I would be better as an individual, just being a mid-rounder and helping rather than taking over fully. We even saw that in the EG game in Group Stage, where I played pretty terribly and I was very uncomfortable, honestly, and it didn’t feel like the right thing to do when they had been together for so long and I had only been with the team for like two or three weeks at that point. I told them, “I don’t want to do it”. I think they already had the same mindset too, like, “Let’s just go back to it”, and now we’re here and it’s working out.

C0M: For sure. I think we saw that for the most part in the last game, where I was able to kind of solely focus on my game fully and I was able to frag out. I hope to have more performances like that. I think I’m very capable of having more performances like that. It’s a matter of time. I think the more and more consistent I get, the more and more consistent the results will come as well.

C0M: The atmosphere definitely got rough, and to be honest, it’s something I’ve experienced in all four years. It’s just how you come out of that atmosphere, whether you give up or you persevere and work harder, accept what’s happened and move forward. The latter happened for our team. We worked a lot harder, and then we also accepted what happened in the past but moved forward from it. I’m proud of everyone, to be honest. I can say I helped a little bit, but it’s all on the individuals and everyone else to kind of step up and be that. I think everyone stepped up in their own ways.

C0M: I’m just a very resilient person. As long as the games are going good, like winning, then I don’t mind. But I think it was very hard for me, overall, playing so individually bad in EG. I’m playing a little bit better now. I’m still trying to get fully consistent in the way I am, but it was just a really hard period where I needed to grit it out and show why I was a champion. No matter how the games go for me, I’ll come back and I’ll try to persevere and give a better result. I think that’s kind of what I’m showing day by day.

C0M: Definitely feels nice. I’ve teamed with a lot of Brazilian players and I’ve always enjoyed playing with them. I think I’ve represented every single region in the Americas at this point, which is pretty cool. It’s super nice to have all the support from the Brazilian fans and people enjoying me. I think it’s very nice because you don’t always get credit for the work you put out, but I think all of them are very passionate, and I’m very appreciative of having that, not only for me but for my whole team.

C0M: I think it’s step by step. I don’t like to put expectations on things because we’ve gotten to this point without having much expectation on the way we play or how we’re going to do and stuff. It’s just game by game, feeling it out, seeing if we can keep our consistency, our poise, our calmness in situations, and then just going from there. That’s the biggest thing for us. The more and more we figure it out and the more and more reps we get, the better we’re going to get. Our final product will be whenever we’re playing in the highest-pressure game, where it’s, map 3 overtime or something like that, to show if we can be a contending team in Champions or a team that won’t show up.

C0M: The sky is the limit for us. It really depends on how this next week goes, our preparation and just our mentality going into game days. The sky is the limit, but also the ground is the limit. All these things can happen in our tournament run. But I do believe we have the potential to make Champions, and not only make Champions but make a run on it. It’s just about, again, not placing expectations on it and just going for it from here.”