“I Like This Role, but It’s Been Hard”: yuurih on Becoming FURIA’s Defensive Rock

“I Like This Role, but It’s Been Hard”: yuurih on Becoming FURIA’s Defensive Rock

FURIA rifler Yuri “yuurih” Santos says he’s finally comfortable in his new full-time anchor role — but admits the switch has been one of the toughest challenges of his career.

After back-to-back titles at FISSURE Masters and the Thunderpick World Championship, FURIA carried their hot form into IEM Chengdu, opening the event with a dominant 2-0 victory over Lynn Vision that brought them within one best-of-three of another playoff appearance.

Despite their recent success, yuurih revealed that the relentless pace of top-tier Counter-Strike has tested the team’s endurance like never before. For the first time, he and his teammates have felt truly exhausted, as every match is “tough” and every deep run brings more high-pressure series. Still, he called it a “good kind of fatigue” — the type that comes from progress, trophies, and finally seeing results after years of hard work.

Reflecting on FURIA’s struggles in past seasons, he used a tunnel metaphor: in earlier years, the team “couldn’t see the light at the end,” but now, alongside KSCERATO and FalleN, he feels that “things are happening for us.”

Embracing the Anchor Role

A cornerstone of FURIA’s resurgence has been yuurih’s role change. Once a flexible rifler who filled gaps, he’s now the team’s full-time anchor — the player responsible for holding bombsites alone and fending off full executes.

He explained that the shift was intentional and rooted in teamwork: he volunteered for the change and even swapped positions with FalleN when the veteran felt uncomfortable in certain setups.

“Anchoring is very hard,” he said. “You often see three or four opponents at once, and you have to get at least two kills to give your team a chance.”

Despite the difficulty, he enjoys the challenge. The role suits his preference for independence — he likes managing his own space and doesn’t always want teammates nearby. To master the position, yuurih has been studying some of the world’s best anchors, including ropz and mezii, focusing on their decision-making, positioning, and utility timing.

A New CT Philosophy Under YEKINDAR

The changes around yuurih are part of a broader transformation in FURIA’s defensive system led by Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis. Since joining the roster, the Latvian star has helped redesign their CT-side approach to be more dynamic and flexible.

He introduced new concepts focused on aggressive re-takes, adaptive rotations, and smarter use of utility — ideas yuurih has fully embraced. Now, the Brazilian star spends hours preparing for opponents, studying their executes and tendencies, and building coordinated setups with his site partner.

Even with the improvements, yuurih admits that CT sides remain the hardest part of the game for FURIA. He praised Team Vitality as the current benchmark, citing ZywOo, ropz, and mezii as examples of players whose defensive dominance inspires his own development.

Adapting to FURIA’s International Era

FURIA’s current form didn’t come easily. The team’s core endured years of turbulence after their emotional IEM Rio Major 2022 semifinal run, followed by inconsistent results and roster shake-ups.

The addition of FalleN in 2023 marked a turning point. The legendary AWPer openly discussed how FURIA’s aggressive style clashed with his more structured approach, and how both sides needed time to align their philosophies.

In 2025, the team took an even bolder step by going international with the signings of YEKINDAR and Danil “molodoy” Golubenko. For yuurih, that was the moment his mindset shifted. Instead of clinging to familiar positions, he decided to do “whatever the team needs,” fully embracing the anchor role and trusting the new firepower to shine.

YEKINDAR later reflected that both he and molodoy helped FURIA “grow up” strategically, though he also noted that the young Kazakh star had to temper his confidence after early wins to maintain focus.

The Rise of molodoy and Balanced Roles

Inside the server, molodoy has emerged as FURIA’s fearless entry presence — the space-taker who thrives on aggression. KSCERATO continues to serve as the team’s dependable closer and late-round expert, while FalleN transitioned into a rifler-anchor hybrid to bring structure and experience.

Earlier, FalleN explained that he stepped away from main AWP duties because of how dominant modern AWPers have become, saying FURIA needed a different balance to compete consistently.

Now, anchoring responsibilities are shared between yuurih and FalleN, while YEKINDAR oversees the team’s macro and mid-round adjustments.

From Frustration to Fulfilment

FURIA’s recent victories at FISSURE and Thunderpick have been deeply emotional for the team. After securing another Major playoff appearance, KSCERATO called their comeback “a really tough journey,” emphasising how long it took to regain relevance on the international stage.

For yuurih, this success validates years of resilience. The light at the end of the tunnel, he said, is finally real — the product of countless qualifiers, roster experiments, and a willingness to adapt rather than regress.

Opponents have taken notice too. Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen recently praised FURIA’s new identity, calling their blend of structure and aggression “unique” and “always nice to watch.”

From Rising Star to Team Pillar

Yuurih has been central to FURIA’s story from the start. Back in 2019, when the team was just breaking into the top tier, he said their goal was “to learn new things, gain more experience, and grow as a team.” By 2020, he ranked 14th in HLTV’s Top 20, cementing his reputation as one of Counter-Strike’s most consistent riflers.

Now, years later, he’s traded the spotlight for stability — embracing one of the game’s most difficult and thankless jobs. Anchoring demands endless demo study, sharp decision-making, and relentless composure.

Still, as FURIA climb back into championship contention, yuurih seems more motivated than ever to keep doing the dirty work, setting the foundation for the team’s success, and standing firm as their silent cornerstone on the CT side.