Kaike "⁠KSCERATO⁠" Cerato talks about FURIA's all-Brazilian derby against 00NATION and their difficult loss to BIG in the opening two rounds of IEM Rio Major.

After the first day of play in Rio de Janeiro, FURIA are sitting in the 1-1 pool, having first suffered a tough loss to BIG as they dropped a 15-8 lead and then sending 00NATION to elimination matches later in the day with a convincing victory on Mirage.

Speaking to HLTV.org following the all-Brazilian match, KSCERATO embraced a 'Mamba mentality' of his own when asked about the derby against his countrymen. "I don't care who are our enemies," he said. "I just want to kill them and win the game. That's like a Kobe Bryant mindset."

The 23-year-old rifler gave insight into why FURIA were unable to close out their Vertigo match against BIG in the first round and spoke on the topic of the passionate Brazilian crowd, showing his appreciation for the support his team has received.

"I don't think winning the game is the best part, I think the support is the best part, because you see everybody supporting you, doesn't matter if you win or if you lose."

Read the full interview below:

Heading into the 00NATION game, what was your reaction when you saw that you were going to play this Brazilian matchup in the second round?

Actually, I don't feel at all like they are Brazilian. I don't care who are our enemies, I just want to kill them and win the game.

Really?

Yeah. That's like a Kobe Bryant mindset.

From a spectator's point of view, I was looking at the crowd and it looked like even they felt uneasy about the matchup and didn't know who to cheer for. What did you think of their reaction?

I think they're not supporting a specific team, they just want to enjoy it. They don't care which Brazilian team is going to win, I think they want a Brazilian team to win, and that's it.

You had a 15-8 lead on Vertigo against BIG in the previous match but couldn't get it over the line. Why didn't you manage to close it out?

To be honest, the T side is too hard to play. Doesn't matter how many rounds you have, I think it's hard. I think k1to won the game, he was on A site and wrecked us. I think the T side sucked today.

I wanted to ask about the crowd. There was so much support for you in the first match, how has that experience been for you?

Man, it was insane. We are playing, someone killed someone on the server and the ground was shaking. It was crazy, man. It's good to feel this, and you can hear them, of course, and it's good to hear your nickname. I don't think winning the game is the best part, I think the support is the best part, because you see everybody supporting you, doesn't matter if you win or if you lose. You keep in mind that I have to move on, get better, better, better, every time.

Do you think that adds pressure, or is it more of a source of motivation for you?

For me, it's motivation. I think it's motivation, I don't feel pressure at all, because I'm playing at home with my parents watching me, my girlfriend, my friends, and every Brazilian is cheering for us. I think that's insane, I don't feel pressure, I feel motivated.

Before the tournament you underwent a surprising change, bringing in André Akkari to stand behind you. I know that was mainly guerri's call, but I also wanted to get your insight into why this happened. What do you think he brings to the table?

Akkari and us, we have a good relationship since like four years ago, we met each other and everyone loves him. He won two tournaments with us in NA as a coach and we know how he can help us. He can help us with a mindset, because unfortunately guerri cannot be with us. He motivates us as fuck, he's a good person, and I love him.

How difficult has this been to accept for tacitus?

I think tacitus helps us, but not in being a coach. As the analyst he shows us everything about the other teams and we feel prepared for this, and he can help us as a coach, but as an analyst he can help us a lot, because if he can focus on analysis, we feel more prepared, I think.