FURIA Esports’ last-minute recruit, Lucas “honda” Honda, registered a historic debut with the team.
The Brazilian player entered the server as a fresh talent with minimal experience in pro Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Paytyn “Junior” Johnson’s inability to travel to the BLAST Premier Global Final due to passport issues opened a slot for newly minted honda, and he made the most of the opportunity.
A trio of aces against G2 Esports showed that honda has the potential to be the next Brazilian prodigy. Despite being underdogs, honda’s skills with pistols allowed FURIA to give G2 a tough time.
Fans got a taste of this early on in the match, as FURIA half-bought after dropping the pistol round. Honda’s classic Deagle pick was fruitful as it allowed him to land four headshots to swing the round. Moving forward into banana, he used a MAG-7 to close the round.
His second ace proved that he’s just somebody with strong aim, but someone that can make good use of utility. honda burned Kenny “kennyS” Schrub to death as G2 pushed down banana, and an accurate HE grenade sent a deadly message to François “AmaNEk” Delaunay. Just when G2 had realized the perils of entering B site, honda launched on the remaining three and gunned them down with his MP9.
The 20-year old continued his onslaught in the deciding map, Nuke, starting the game with his third ace. The youngster was a concrete wall in front of his opponents, forcing G2 to struggle with a B-site retake. After a quick triple kill, honda bagged the round for Brazil in a one-on-two clutch.
Despite honda’s incredible debut, G2 sent FURIA to the loser’s bracket with a 2-1 victory. However, FURIA’s overall performance with a fresh player on its roster was laudable, especially against a team like G2 Esports.
With limited experience in professional esports, honda has shined brightly in his first match against a top-tier team. However, the player was brought in as Junior’s replacement and hired as a sixth member. It’ll be interesting to see how FURIA handles its lineup once Junior is back on the active roster.
Fariha Bhatti
About Fariha Bhatti
Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.
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