FURIA becomes a management model in eSports and puts Brazil at the table with giants

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#DiadeFuria is the hashtag triggered by fans of the Brazilian electronic sports team (eSports) when it is involved in major competitions.

On the 5th of the month, the message occupied the first position among the most talked about topics on Twitter for at least six hours. On that occasion, FURIA’s CS:GO team (in capital letters, as their creators prefer) was defeated in the quarterfinals of the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 by the Russians from Gambit.

Despite the setback in the shooting game, the campaign that led Brazilians to the playoffs of one of the main tournaments in the world was celebrated by the team and its fans. The match had a peak of 342,000 simultaneous viewers on the streamer channel Gaules on Twitch — in the total number of broadcasts, the number of viewers surpassed 1.2 million.

“If there’s one thing that makes me happy, it’s seeing Brazilians fulfilling their dreams. And when you meet the person, happiness triples. #DiadeFuria”, wrote Neymar.

The friendship of the main soccer player in Brazil and the support of other athletes and digital celebrities indicate the repercussion achieved by the winner of the best organization category in the eSports Brazil 2020 award.

Although it doesn’t seem like it, the starting point of this trajectory is recent. In August 2017, businessman Jaime Pádua, passionate about CS:GO, took the dream of making a living from eSports on paper and teamed up with André Akkari, a professional poker player, and Cris Guedes.

The first headquarters was set up in Uberlândia (MG), where Padua lived. “At that time I did everything, set up the table and sofa, bought food for the house, made payments, it was social media, took pictures, recorded content…”, he recalls.

In addition to the partners, the company consisted only of a CS:GO team, but it soon began to stand out in national competitions and the following year it went to explore the US market.

Under the command of coach Nicholas Guerri Nogueira and with the reinforcement of Kaike Cerato, the victories accumulated in a surprising way. From the third division to the North American elite, the path was fast, and the old prizes of up to R$5,000 that the team won in tournaments in Brazil began to multiply in dollars.

Part of FURIA’s commercial and sports operation migrated to Boca Raton, Florida, and big sponsors gradually arrived, many of them with no tradition in electronic sports. Companies like Nike, Red Bull, Santander and PokerStars have been or are still among the contracts.

Last month, the biggest leap was taken from a business point of view: the approval of the selection process that guaranteed entry into the ESL, the main CS:GO league in the world. In addition to being a captive spot in the sport’s biggest competitions, the movement makes the Brazilian company a member of the group, with participation in revenue sharing and decision-making.

More than 40 organizations participated in the competition, called the Louvre Agreement and compared to the Concorde Agreement, an agreement that regulates relations between the main F1 agents. The process took months between presentations, audits and meetings and selected two other applicants to the group. The amount paid by the three as an entrance fee is US$ 20 million (R$ 110 million).

“This puts FURIA on an equal footing with the largest eSports organizations in the world. It was a wedding. The league needed to have a Brazilian foot and someone who is relevant to them, and we are now associated with a group of elite,” says Padua.

“Part of our proposal has always been to bring an air of more professionalism to a scenario that in 2017 was still somewhat amateur in Brazil. I believe that today we are a mirror for other organizations”, he adds.

Currently, the company has 190 employees, of which around 50 are professional players and 70 streamers, dedicated to lives on video channels such as Twitch and Youtube. In addition to CS:GO teams, FURIA has teams that compete in League of Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, Free Fire, Rocket League and Valorant championships.

He also has signed contracts with professionals from other areas who are somehow connected to the gaming and streaming scene, such as pilots Pietro and Enzo Fittipaldi, chess player Krikor Mekhitarian, UFC fighter Livinha Souza and pagode singer Duzão.

“FURIA is an eSports organization, looking for performance in games and profitability, but the ultimate goal is for it to become a sociocultural movement”, says Eduardo Lacortt, general director for Brazil.

“It was quick to realize that, as we establish a team that wins competitions and makes an idol player or boosts streamers, we also gain a very powerful channel, with messages passed on to very young people,” he adds.

In São Paulo, the team’s office occupies an entire floor of a building close to Avenida Berrini with training rooms separated by modalities, recording studio and an office. Physiotherapy, nutrition and psychology professionals take turns providing assistance.

Just as traditional clubs started to create their electronic sports divisions, FURIA sought a strategy in football to interact intensely with its fans and for them to literally wear their shirt.

In addition to selling official game uniforms, the company bet on the creation of its own casual clothing line and a marketplace to sell the house’s products.

“We work with passion. Our fan is passionate both online and offline. Nike brought to us the concept of the official game shirt, which was very well accepted and validated us taking it a step further. This lifestyle part is also part of the cultural side that FURIA wants to reach”, explains Rafael Gimenes Pereira, 34, product director.

Positions against racism and sexism

In a universe where real identities are often hidden behind machines, avatars and usernames, discussions about issues such as racism, sexism, bullying and hate speech within games have gained traction in recent years.

People linked to FURIA were hit by prejudiced attacks that had repercussions in the environment. In September 2020, streamer Mose received a string of racist messages on his channel. In March of this year, the members of the newly created women’s Free Fire Emulator team were victims of machismo.

In the first case, the team posted a video on their social networks recorded by Mose and sought to make a stand by declaring support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The attack aimed at athletes generated an internal campaign to support them. Before that, the team’s announcement had already been accompanied by a video in which the players appear listening to disincentives for being women and then writing together messages of strength on their bodies.

Lacortt even invokes the form of writing the team name to corroborate the positions. “We really want to pick a fight. Fight to win title, to grow the eSports market, to include women in the scenario, against racists… We don’t want to be passive. FURIA in caps lock becomes a stamp of someone willing to bully for the things he believes.”

The company has just hired a director of inclusion and diversity, whose name is yet to be announced.

Although in principle there is no gender division in electronic sports competitions, the main teams are mostly made up of men. The number of women who stand out in mixed leagues is still low, and that is why championships were created exclusively for women.

A reality that changes little by little. The nine managers responsible for the FURIA teams in different modalities are coordinated by a woman, Julia Zaz. At the entrance to the office, the trophies won by her CS:GO female team, which also compete in mixed tournaments, are highlighted.

One of the members is Karina Takahashi, 26, who studied music production and over the past three years has managed to turn her passion for eSports into a career.

“The organizations investing in us helps a lot to normalize something that should have been normalized. Women play, period. And there are people who don’t understand that, still think women can’t play”, laments Takahashi.

The athlete believes that she suffers less from attacks because she is already known in the field, but she sees a still toxic environment, especially for those who are just starting out. “Our job is to show the world that there are women who play and can do the same things as men.

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