FURIA was arguably the second-best CS2 team behind Vitality in 2025, and now they are struggling to make the playoffs at big events.
Continuous streaks of lackluster performances from some of their stars leave fans wondering whether their four trophy wins in the second half of last year were anything more than a hot streak of form.
So, what’s going on with FURIA?
FURIA players don’t look like they’ll be lifting a trophy any time soon. Image credit: Luc Bouchon | © BLAST
Given that FURIA was Vitality’s biggest challenger at the back end of 2025, fans expected the Brazilian-majority squad to carry over that form to 2026, and at first, they did.
At BLAST Bounty, they got to the semi-finals, where they lost to the eventual winners, PARIVISION. They built on that result in Kraków, where they made the Grand Final, losing to Vitality. They even won the first map of the BO5. Vitality have not dropped a playoff map since that game.
After a promising start to the year, with two solid showings at BLAST Bounty and IEM Kraków, FURIA’s performances turned for the worse.
At PGL Cluj-Napoca, they exited the tournament in the quarters after falling short against The MongolZ. Although top eight isn’t a bad finish in the grand scheme of things, the performances themselves were much less convincing than previously.
Then came a run of four events, where, outside of IEM Rio, FURIA failed to even make the playoffs, losing in group stages to teams such as B8, 3DMAX, FaZe Clan, and GamerLegion.
Those results are simply inexcusable when you consider where FURIA were just a few months ago. They have one more event to bounce back before the Major, at PGL Astana 2026.
molodoy hasn’t shown up in the playoffs since IEM Kraków. Credit: ESL
Underperformance in key moments has played a big factor in FURIA’s recent struggles. Some of the players they could previously rely on in tough situations aren’t delivering the same impact anymore.
While their individual level has dropped virtually across the whole lineup, two players’ declines particularly stand out. Those two would be Danil “molodoy” Golubenko and Yuri “yuurih” Santos.
yuurih was a rock for FURIA in 2025. His anchoring skills and multi-kill ability made him the reliable piece every team needs. However, this year, he has dropped off a cliff, severely hampering FURIA’s CT side success.
The more worrying situation is that of molodoy. Last year, the youngster made waves on the AWP with his aggressive playstyle and was easily one of the best CS2 players in 2025. While in 2026, he continues to farm in group stages, his playoff form is abysmal right now.
When on stage, the 21-year-old often looks like he couldn’t land a shot if his life depended on it. If his drop-off wasn’t so drastic, FURIA would certainly still be one of Vitality’s strongest challengers. Unfortunately, that is not the case at the moment.
FalleN is hanging up the mouse at the end of the year. Credit: © PGL
During the IEM Rio playoffs, Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo announced his retirement from Counter-Strike at the end of this year. Since then, FURIA lost three games in a row to Vitality, GamerLegion, and FaZe Clan.
While losing an iconic figure and mentor like FalleN from your roster will be a struggle for FURIA in the long term, it might also impact their performances throughout the upcoming CS2 events.
It’s obvious that the FURIA players have a lot of love and respect for FalleN and want to do well in his last year as a professional Counter-Strike player. However, the emotions involved could be working against them.
molodoy looked most affected by FalleN’s announcement and later played one of his worst playoff series to date, albeit against Vitality. If his level doesn’t significantly improve at PGL Astana, in front of his home crowd, there are reasons to be skeptical of FURIA’s IEM Cologne Major chances.
With one of the best CS2 IGLs retiring and strange rumors circulating about the roster, FURIA’s future is uncertain. Nevertheless, hopefully they return to their best and become a real rival to Vitality in the coming months.
Read also: kyxsan opens up on Team Falcons exit and final weeks with NiKo
Featured image credit: © StarLadder
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