Guigo backs FURIA to beat MVK in Worlds rematch

FURIA top laner Guilherme “Guigo” Ruiz expects his team to beat MVK Esports in Saturday’s lower-bracket final at the 2026 League of Legends World Championship. FURIA reached the match after defeating Cloud9 3-1 on Friday, October 16.

FURIA will face MVK at 11 a.m. PT on Saturday, October 17. The Brazilian team lost 3-0 to MVK in the opening Play-In round two days earlier. The winner will play Karmine Corp on Sunday for a place in the Swiss Stage. The losing team will be eliminated.

FURIA had limited time to prepare after losing the CBLOL final and spending two days traveling to the tournament. The team had one day to practice before facing MVK, including a mixed scrim with North American Tier 2 players.

“We went into the MVK series pretty raw,” Guigo said. “But I feel like that was enough to warm us up for today’s match. Thankfully, we were able to show a bit more of how we actually play today.”

FURIA had lost 10 straight international games before beating Cloud9. Guigo described the loss to MVK as a poor performance in lane, team decisions and game planning.

“Yesterday was like a slap in the face that woke us up, and we came back much better today,” he said.

Friday’s result repeated FURIA’s recent success against Cloud9. FURIA swept the North American team 3-0 in the Americas Cup grand final earlier in 2026. Guigo did not believe that series greatly changed FURIA’s preparation for Friday’s match and said Cloud9 appeared less prepared for the rematch.

He also questioned Cloud9’s decision to leave Volibear available in Game 3 after banning the champion earlier in the series. FURIA used Volibear to beat Cloud9 during the Americas Cup.

Guigo attributed FURIA’s previous international losses partly to the team’s response after falling behind. He said the young roster sometimes rushed decisions in difficult game states, despite performing well in practice against teams from South Korea and China.

“Today we were calmer and more rational,” Guigo said. “We’re a pretty young roster, so it’s normal not to have that much emotional control yet.”

The players also stayed off social media after the loss to MVK. Guigo said they did not open Twitter or Instagram before the Cloud9 series.

Guigo described MVK as an unpredictable team that uses unusual picks and punishes opponents who are not fully focused. He expects FURIA to be better prepared after playing against MVK once.

“I think they can expect a win,” Guigo said. “What happened yesterday was a nightmare. It was an awful day. I don’t see this team having another series like that.”

FURIA’s match against MVK will determine whether the team remains in the tournament. Guigo described FURIA as a methodical team that performs best with comfortable champions and a strong in-game position.

Follow our gaming coverage and visit our game gift marketplace for available digital products.