Lucas "⁠LUCAS1⁠" Teles will be filling in for FURIA in the North American closed qualifier for IEM Katowice, replacing Henrique "⁠HEN1⁠" Teles, it has been announced.

FURIA were forced to find a stand-in for the qualifier because of a delay with HEN1's visa renewal - an issue that had already forced the Brazilian sniper to sit out of cs_summit 5, where coach Nicholas "⁠guerri⁠" Nogueira filled in for the team.

LUCAS1 is currently assessing his options after being released by MIBR in December to make way for Ignacio "⁠meyern⁠" Meyer, who was signed from Sharks. He averaged a 1.02 rating on LAN while playing under Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo's side, making his final appearance for the team at the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals.

LUCAS1 will be FURIA's fifth player in this week's qualifier

The North American closed qualifier for IEM Katowice will run from January 7-9 and will feature eight teams, four invited and four qualified. The winning side will earn a direct spot at the Polish event, where $500,000 will be on the line.

FURIA will take part in the double-elimination tournament with the following lineup: