FURIA stood out as the greatest unexpected success story of 2025. Their prime years appeared far in the past. It looked like the famous team leader Gabriel FalleN Toledo might retire soon. Then, the addition of Danil molodoy Golubenko and Mareks YEKINDAR Galinskis totally changed the squad.
Boosted by these players from Eastern Europe, the team from Brazil picked up four wins in the last part of 2025. Many saw them as the leading choice to take the StarLadder Budapest Major that ended the year.
Yet, a little more than a month after dropping out in the quarterfinals against NAVI in that tournament, FURIA does not seem like the same group from 2025. Their window to claim prizes appears to have closed already.
Real Skill Against Current Play
Folks often say current play fades but real skill lasts. Sports fans see this truth in results over time. For instance, Vitality had every player at peak in early 2025. They won seven tournaments straight. Later, when Shahar flameZ Shushan’s play dipped a bit, their skill kept them in top four spots often. But they only took two events.
MOUZ shows something like that too. Their setup let them hit the final four in 12 out of 16 tournaments in 2025. Still, not all players peaking together meant just one prize.
When these teams lose, they point to those extra edges that help beat others. Things like winning pistol rounds, key one-on-one wins, or enemy mistakes with gear.
FURIA now shows these missing edges too. They reached semifinals at BLAST Bounty and playoffs at IEM Krakow. But they look nothing like the end-of-2025 version.
At BLAST Bounty, their wins over FUT and HEROIC felt unsteady. They played badly against PARIVISION in defeat. In Krakow, they bombed their first match against FUT. Their win over The MongolZ was not solid, even though The MongolZ still hurt from losing Azbayar Senzu Munkhbold.
What makes the main changes? What stops FURIA from seeming like top challengers again?
Lacking Key Edges
No question FURIA has a solid setup. It copies Vitality’s style with clear roles for balance. YEKINDAR opens strong, Kaike KSCERATO Cerato closes reliably, and molodoy hits big as the main sniper.
Any setup needs players to land shots though. Right now, FURIA’s key guys miss too much.
During their winning streak, KSCERATO rated 1.23, YEKINDAR 1.13, and Yuri yuurih Santos 1.07. In 2026 so far, KSCERATO is at 1.11, YEKINDAR 1.07, and yuurih at 0.97. All three do worst when attacking. This drops FURIA’s attack round wins from 52.3% to 44% this year.
FURIA struggles big on pistol rounds too this year. Their defense pistol win at 36.8% beats Vitality’s 22.2%. But it lags behind Spirit at 70% and Falcons at 56.6%. On attack pistols, they win 57.7% with an 11-8 record. But they only turn those into a two-round lead 63.6% of the time. PARIVISION, who beat them at BLAST Bounty, also won 11 attack pistols but made it two-zero every time.
These gaps, plus fewer opening kills or one-on-one saves tied to low player scores, stop FURIA from easy wins now. Games drag on, they lose more maps, and players tire out more.
Even so, FURIA should stay near the top. Their setup is too good not to. But after looking set to beat MOUZ at prizes, they now seem headed to match MOUZ as steady top-four finishers, not prize takers.
Like MOUZ, FURIA has no real standout star. Vitality has top talent everywhere. FURIA does not. molodoy makes a difference but lacks Mathieu ZywOo Herbaut’s steady play. YEKINDAR can break rounds but does it less than Shahar flameZ Shushan. As for yuurih, he has nothing like William mezii Merriman’s reliable role on the best team.
These tiny gaps in player strength, plus the missing edges mentioned, will probably keep FURIA from prizes like before. As Vitality keeps ahead and Spirit tweaks to chase, FURIA must find their old play. Real skill alone won’t cut it in single-elimination fights.
