Kru Esports squared off Against Furia Esports in the second Elimination match at Valorant Champions. It was a tight contest but ultimately Furia conceded and bow out of the $1 million event.
It was a LATAM duel in the first elimination of Group B at Valorant Champions, as Furia Esports went head-to-head with Kru Esports. Furia had impressed a lot of people despite suffering a narrow defeat against Sentinels. As a result they looked to be the slight favourites going into this match.
They were going up against a Kru roster that were eager to redeem themselves after they were beaten by Team Liquid in a dominate fashion. However, they had shown some bright sparks in that previous matchup, so this was going to be far from simple for either team.
Map 1: Furia edge out an early lead on Fracture
Things got off to a scrappy start as both teams seemed to make some rather bizarre plays against each other. Furia were looking marginally better than Kru Esports in terms of their teamwork. Yet Kru's wildcard approach to playing this map seemed to be catching the Brazilians off-guard at times. Both teams went into the half tied at 6-6, but in terms of slaying, Kru's Keznitdeus was just a cut above the rest with his Breach play.
Furia managed to gain a narrow two round lead following the switch, but Kru were continuing to be a nuisance across the map.
It didn't take too long for Kru Esports to tie things up once more at 11 - 11. Things were looking good for Kru, as everyone on their team seemed to step up in the kills department in the second half. But Furia's resolve was unwavering and eventually they managed edge out 13 - 11 win over Kru; with QCK finishing just a kill behind lobby leader Keznitdeus with 26 kills.
Map 2: Kru Esports Bounce Back On Ascent
Having already lost on their map pick, Kru were up dire straits going into Ascent. And if they were to have any hope of getting back into this match, they were going to need a fast start. This was not to be the case however as Furia blitzed their way to an early 4 - 0 lead.
Kru stormed back in to tie things up at 4 - 4, as they seemed to rattle Furia's cage a bit. The flow of the game seemed to flip in favour of Kru as they continued to put as much pressure on Furia as possible. A move that really seemed to be working well for them as they went into halftime leading 8 - 4.
Things continued in this fashion for Kru in the second half as they won the first two rounds to take them to a 10 - 4 lead. Furia eventually snapped the streak with a round of their own, but all signs continued to point towards a Kru map win.
As Furia just didn't seem to have an answer to the aggressive tendencies of Kru on Ascent. But Furia refused to say die, managing to nick four rounds back to stem the flow. But it barely managed to do more than make the score look more respectable as Kru eventually took Ascent 13 - 8; tying the series at 1 - 1.
Map 3: Kru Sends Furia Packing On Haven
After bullying Furia on their map pick, Kru looked to be very much in control in this series. Although Haven seemed to favor Furia, they were going to need to get their acts together if they wanted to keep their tournament hopes alive.
Kru got off to a strong start in the pistol round, with Klaus coming in with a nasty collateral kill with a classic. They proceeded to build off that with a great second round, only to be met with a Flawless from the side of Furia in the third round.
However, Kru were far from being fazed as they began to formulate a narrow lead; a lead which was short lived as Furia managed to tie things up once more. An ever-present trend throughout this series. But Kru regained the lead as quickly as they had lost it as they led 7 - 5 going into halftime.
Kru maintained their momentum as they won the second pistol round of the map. And the lead continued to build and build as Furia looked helpless. But like on Ascent, Furia were not going to go down without a fight as they managed to pull a few rounds back to keep the pressure on Kru.
Furia give it their best shot and it looked as though that they might be able to catch them. But the die had well and truly been cast as Kru put the final nail in Furia's coffin to win the map 13 - 9, completing the comeback to win the series 2 - 1.
Final Thoughts on Kru Esports vs Furia Esports
It was a back and forth tie for a lot of the match. Furia did well to win on Fracture, but it was Kru who looked as though they were only growing into the series then. From that point on Kru managed to be a thorn in Furia's side as they continued to prod at them with their adaptable aggression.
Furia played well for much of this tournament, but ultimately it seemed like they were never able to really get going against Kru. At times they looked like they could sustain a good push to keep themselves afloat. But then they would succumb to a great teamwork mixed with a few bits of individual brilliance from Kru. Furia become the second team to be eliminated for VALORANT Champions, with Crazy Raccoon the first to exit after defeat to Team Secret.
Kru Esports will be moving on to face Sentinels in the Group B Decider match. Unfortunately for Furia Esports this is the end of the road for them at Valorant Champions. And they will be dearly missed at this tournament.
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