ESL Pro League Season 13FURIA overcome FunPlus Phoenix in ESL Pro League Season 13 playoffs
The Brazilian side closed out the series thanks to a brilliant performance from Vinicius "VINI" Figueiredo.
FURIA managed a 2-1 victory over FunPlus Phoenix in the first match of the ESL Pro League Season 13 playoffs, advancing further in the bracket and eliminating their opponents from the competition.
The European team entered the server as a significant underdog due to the circumstances surrounding them. In a recent episode of 'HLTV Confirmed', Martin "STYKO" Styk revealed that the EPL is likely to be Miikka "suNny" Kemppi's final event on the roster, and that their practice has been lacking in quantity and quality due to the Finnish player's health problems.
Leading up to the match, Jonatan "Devilwalk" Lundberg's men decided to gamble in the veto, banning Mirage and opening up Vertigo which they haven't played since suNny's arrival, but that wasn't an issue for FURIA who knew they were ready for either of those maps, Paytyn "junior" Johnson said on the post-match interview. Following a 2-1 victory inspired by VINI, the Brazilians will go on to face the winners of Liquid - G2 next.
The two teams traded blows on Nuke, starting with FunPlus Phoenix taking a 6-1 lead thanks to pacy Terrorist play. VINI was the standout player for FURIA as they started to put rounds on the board, with back-to-back lower-site retakes allowing the Brazilians' strong recovery, finishing the half 9-6 ahead. FunPlus Phoenix equalized the score after winning a second pistol, but a low buy from FURIA got them rolling again (14-11). Then, STYKO's quad kill in a Deagle-heavy round spurred on the European roster, seeing them pull the scoreline back to edge out a 16-14 win.
Vertigo was a different game altogether, as FURIA's pick was a quick and straightforward affair. Andrei "arT" Piovezan's team was 7-1 up on the offense before their opponents could tie two rounds together, with FunPlus Phoenix's late-half effort leaving them with just five nonetheless. Winning the T-side pistol gave some hope to Jesse "zehN" Linjala and co., but FURIA claimed the map with a 6-0 run on the CT side, moving to Inferno.
The final map of the series delivered excitement, as FunPlus Phoenix managed to claw their way back into the game from 7-2 CT side deficit to finish the half just three behind, 9-6. Asger "Farlig" Jensen was a key part of the puzzle as the European side equalized things with a 3-0 start, matching up with Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato on the other side. As the end of the map neared, mutlikills from VINI were the thorn in FunPlus Phoenix's side as the 21-year-old rifler pushed his team over the line for a 16-11 win.
 FURIA |
K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 - 48 | +25 | 90.3 | 1.42 | |
| 64 - 46 | +18 | 80.0 | 1.19 | |
| 54 - 54 | 0 | 75.2 | 1.07 | |
| 50 - 44 | +6 | 61.8 | 1.02 | |
| 39 - 52 | -13 | 67.5 | 0.96 |
 FunPlus Phoenix |
K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 - 53 | +5 | 76.4 | 1.02 | |
| 49 - 57 | -8 | 75.9 | 0.97 | |
| 49 - 62 | -13 | 69.8 | 0.87 | |
| 40 - 51 | -11 | 68.8 | 0.85 | |
| 42 - 58 | -16 | 62.0 | 0.77 |
Keith 'NAF' Markovic
Audric 'JaCkz' Jug
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač
Nemanja 'nexa' Isaković
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