FURIA sidde reflects on their BetBoom Dacha run: “We aimed for top 4, but I’m proud of how we turned things around after a bad start.”

FURIA are officially out of BetBoom Dacha playoffs following a 2-1 loss to Eternal Fire, but their head coach Sid "sidde" Marcedo saw positive things throughout the campaign.

The Brazilian team finished the tournament in 5th-6th and despite a one-sided loss to Team Spirit and the elimination to Eternal Fire in the playoffs, they defeated 9 Pandas, Aurora, and Eternal Fire during the play-in plus Virtus.pro in the playoffs.

Since FURIA displayed their best Counter-Strike thus far in 2024 at BetBoom Dacha, esports.gg caught up with sidde after their elimination to gather his thoughts on the whole campaign, Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo's performance, and his nearly two months as the team's head coach.

What's your opinion on both FURIA's performance and results here at this tournament?

"We had a rough start in the tournament as we didn't play up to our capacity against 9 Pandas, and I'm happy that we put that performance behind us and improved. I asked the team to bring more energy to matches and play our own style for the rest of the tournament, and then we turned things around in the play-in.

"We finished first in our group, made playoffs, and had a good debut against Virtus.pro. Unfortunately, we met Spirit, who is a very tough opponent nowadays, and unless you bring your A-game, you get destroyed by them just as we did.

"Today, the result against Eternal Fire wasn't the greatest, but when I look at the whole campaign and our capacity to turn things around, I'd say it was close to what was expected in terms of performance and below the expectations in terms of results. But I'm happy the guys got better throughout the tournament and showed our true face."

All things considered, can you say FURIA accomplished their mission here?

FalleN played completely differently after that debut versus 9 Pandas. To be honest, we had not seen this FalleN in a while. He had the best map of his career here against Eternal Fire today, for example. Did he decide to play way more loose and aggressive all by himself or was it a team decision?

"It was a bit of both. The team felt they played too scared and strict in that first match, and obviously FalleN saw that in his own individual performance. He felt that he could have a lot more impact, and from that point on, the guys were way more united in the server.

"It also helped that 9 Pandas' captain shalfey downplayed us as we strived to be more cohesive, united, and energic. I think that impacted FalleN's individual form as he was contaminated by our energy, and he played with more courage, taking more risks, and being the FalleN that we've all grown up watching — fearless, but conscious of all his decisions. That's what he did for the rest of the tournament."

How is your time as head coach going so far? There are a lot of strong voices in FURIA and you're still young. You have also been around them for a while. Do you feel that they listen to your opinions and feedback?

"It's been awesome to work with them. As you said, even though there are a lot of strong voices in the team, I feel that my period as an assistant coach was important to define our relationship, and for them to understand what I think, how I work, and how I interact on a personal level.

"This foundation was built during this year and a half-period as an assistant coach, and all of them know how our hierarchy works. Nicholas "guerri" Nogueira [FURIA's former head coach] always had an active voice and was their leader. The players know the stronger voice comes from the coaching staff, so I don't have any difficulty whatsoever in getting my point across or bringing in something new for the team. They are all-ears for my ideas, we have a good relationship, and it's been great."

That's all for now. Stay tuned to esports.gg for more BetBoom Dacha content directly from Belgrade, Serbia.