FURIA beats 9z 2-1 to reach Esports World Cup playoffs

FURIA beat 9z 2-1 at the Esports World Cup, securing a place in the tournament playoffs. The Brazilian side won Dust2 13-6, lost Mirage in overtime and closed the series with a decisive victory on Nuke.

On Dust2 FURIA built a 7-5 lead by halftime on the CT side and completed a controlled offensive half to finish 13-6. The team limited 9z opportunities and converted several post-plant situations to keep the map one-sided.

Mirage was the closest contest. Matias “HUASOPEEK” Ibañez Hernandez and Ignacio “meyern” Meyer produced several important rounds for 9z during FURIA’s strong first half. HUASOPEEK continued his impact after the switch and forced overtime. Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato delivered a late 1v2 clutch during FURIA’s comeback attempt, but 9z won in OT to tie the series.

On Nuke FURIA controlled both sides of the map and restricted 9z’s responses, closing the match without surrendering control. Key rounds included a force-buy triple from KSCERATO, a 1v2 round win by Danil “molodoy” Golubenko that saved FURIA in an earlier map, and a three-kill retake by Yuri “yuurih” Santos that secured series point. 9z produced a last-millisecond 2v3 retake on Mirage but could not replicate that impact across the series.

Individual statistics reflected the map outcomes. KSCERATO finished 65-41 with an average damage per round of 93.7 and a Rating3.0 of 1.47. Yuurih posted 46-40 with a 1.08 rating and 71.7 ADR. Molodoy ended 48-35 with a 78.6 ADR and a 1.07 rating. For 9z, HUASOPEEK led with a 53-48 line, 88.0 ADR and a 1.30 rating. Ignacio “meyern” Meyer recorded 39-44 with a 62.6 ADR and a 0.97 rating. Luciano “luchov” Herrera had a 41-51 line and a 0.97 rating, Franco “dgt” Garcia posted 37-48 with a 0.89 rating, and Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez finished 33-47 with a 0.81 rating.

With the win FURIA advance to the Esports World Cup playoffs. 9z are eliminated from the upper bracket after the series.