FURIA swept paiN in the opening round of BLAST Open Porto to get off to a winning start. After the match, YEKINDAR said in an interview that it was the anger from the EWC loss that fueled the team's fighting spirit.
Just three days ago, FURIA finished fourth at EWC, losing to FUT and Legacy in succession and missing the chance to at least reach the final. But YEKINDAR said that anger instead became motivation.
YEKINDAR: "After EWC we were indeed really angry, angry at ourselves. In the match against FUT we had many opportunities to reach the final. Some rounds the opponents played well, but many were ones we failed to capitalize on."
“The person who interviewed me at the time asked: ‘Do you think anger is a good thing or a bad thing?’ I said: ‘We’ll know after this stop.’ Now it seems anger really helped us.”
In the match against paiN, FURIA dominated their opponents throughout. They posted a 10-2 halftime score on Mirage, eventually taking it 13-2 with ease; they then cruised on Cache as well, marking FURIA's first 2-0 sweep in a series in two months.
YEKINDAR, calling on Cache, delivered an outstanding individual performance — putting up an 18-7 KD, +15.68% round influence, and 163.7 ADR by halftime, almost single-handedly breaking through paiN's defense.
When asked whether he enjoys calling, YEKINDAR admitted that he wants to become an IGL in the future, but not now.
YEKINDAR: "At some stage in the future, I want to be an IGL — when I realize my aim can't keep up anymore. I'm still in the prime of my career right now, although maybe not the 'sharp' YEKINDAR from 2021, but in terms of decision-making and contribution to the team, I still highly value myself as a role player."