It’s almost that time of the year again, when the CS2 transfer rumors begin to heat up and teams start to prepare their rosters for the rest of the year. One team having a particularly tough time of late is FURIA, who recently made the bold choice to replace chelo with young Kazakh AWPer molodoy, with FalleN dropping the Big Green to focus on his rifle.
This move was seen as a slight step away from the Brazilian identity that has defined FURIA over the last few years. Now, a new rumor has suggested that the team could be going fully international after all.
FURIA to remove skullz for YEKINDAR
Credit: Sebastian Pandelache | PGL
According to Game Arena, FURIA are set to bench skullz, bringing to an end a nine-month stint with the Brazilian organization. In his place, FURIA are targeting benched Team Liquid rifler YEKINDAR, in a move that would signal an intent to move to an international lineup. Since the start of 2025, skullz’s individual form has taken a small nosedive compared to his FURIA start. PGL Bucharest 2025 was among the worst-rated tournaments of his entire career, so it will come as no surprise that the team are looking to make this change.
Right now, FURIA has a serious role problem. After removing chelo, there are no naturally aggressive riflers on the team. All of yuurih, KSCERATO, and skullz are naturally passive players, making it hard for them all to exist on the same team. Whatever you think of YEKINDAR’s form on Liquid towards the end of his stint in Team Liquid, there’s no doubt that he will help the team strike a better balance on the server.
Will FURIA go full international?
Should -skullz +YEKINDAR come to fruition for FURIA, it would leave just three Brazilians left on the team’s active lineup. For a team whose identity is so rooted in national pride, with superstars like Neymar Jr taking an open liking to the organization, going fully international is a huge risk. International Counter-Strike is undoubtedly a more consistent route to trophies in 2025, but there’s unique value to be found in investing in national scenes long-term. It only takes one misstep to lose all of that support built over years.
Credit: Helena Kristiansson | ESL
I think that most of us expect FURIA to move on from FalleN soon enough, too. Will the replacement IGL be international? At that point, you’d be down to two – yuurih and KSCERATO. Ultimately, KSCERATO is a franchise player and one you must keep hold of, so you’ll always have that Brazilian heart to the team. But will it really be the same? I’m not so sure. Let’s wait and see how this rumor pans out.
Source: Game Arena