yuurih: "We'd be very happy [to win this event], especially if it's against Falcons; we're trying to beat the best teams"

Much has been said about FURIA's packed schedule this season, and if nothing else it seems to have hampered the team's efforts to bring Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo one more trophy before he retires. At Thunderpick World Championship, however, FURIA have hit a level of form not seen from them for some time, and now are in the final with a real shot at taking home the trophy.

Earlier in the tournament FalleN talked about the momentum a tournament win could bring to FURIA's efforts, and in the wake of his team's semi-final victory, Yuri "⁠yuurih⁠" Santos acknowledged the sense of vindication a trophy win would offer. "I think there’s nothing better than winning a tournament, right? We've been playing in several tournaments, with only a few days to rest. The best reward, for sure, is being the champion."

With a grand final against the winner of BETBOOM vs. Falcons up next, yuurih spoke to HLTV to discuss his team's victory over Aurora and who he's hoping to face with the trophy on the line.

Congratulations, yuurih. A victory in two maps, and you're going to the final. Give me your thoughts on the series.

It feels good, right? It's been a while since we made it to a final, besides the Major. It's also nice to beat some teams like Legacy and now Aurora, too, since we lost to them last time.

Making it to the final against a good team. I'm hoping to face the Falcons in the final now, it's been a while since I've played against them. But it feels great to win like this.

You had faced Aurora in Pro League, winning their pick of Dust2 before losing Mirage and then Nuke. What did you discuss outside after the first map to make sure they wouldn't pull off a similar comeback?

I think Inferno should have been a lot easier, we lost the anti-force again. We should have been up 11-4 with a good economy, so I think that round brought them back a bit. We also lost another gun round on A, so it was getting tough, but then we won the force-buy at 10-10. That brought us back. It got tough, but I think it's because we messed up a bit.

Talk to me about that crucial round at 10-10. It brought the momentum back in your favor.

YEKINDAR had a good call: we were A, he told everyone to go B. We had enough time to go B and I was able to bait for molodoy in triple, FalleN used a flash, then I went triple. We played this round well. We will always believe.

There has been a lot of talk about FURIA playing a lot of tournaments without any rest. What has it been like for you personally? And to be one win away from the trophy, it's a kind of reward for all the work you've been putting in, isn't it?

Oh, for sure. I think there’s nothing better than winning a tournament, right? We've been playing in several tournaments, with only a few days to rest. The best reward, for sure, is being the champion.

You're the defending Thunderpick champions. How important would it be, also considering that FalleN is retiring at the end of the year, to lift the trophy here?

I think we would be very happy, especially if it's against Falcons. We're trying to beat the best teams, you know? Falcons, Spirit, MOUZ. If we win a final against them, it would be very good.

BETBOOM

Kirill 'Boombl4' Mikhailov

Aleksandr 'zorte' Zagodyrenko

Pavel 'S1ren' Ogloblin

Daniil 'd1Ledez' Kustov

Kirill 'Magnojez' Rodnov

Artem 'Fierce' Ivanov

Aurora

Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş

Özgür 'woxic' Eker

Jimi 'Jimpphat' Salo

Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski

Ali 'Wicadia' Haydar Yalçın

Ashley 'ash' Battye

Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoPast 3 months

FURIA

Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo

Yuri 'yuurih' Santos

Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis

Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato

Danil 'molodoy' Golubenko

Sid 'sidde' Macedo

Yuri 'yuurih' SantosPast 3 months

Falcons

Finn 'karrigan' Andersen

Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač

René 'TeSeS' Madsen

Ilya 'm0NESY' Osipov

Maksim 'kyousuke' Lukin

Danny 'zonic' Sørensen