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Just four days after sweeping Vitality 3-0 in the IEM Chengdu Grand Final, FURIA have beaten the Europeans again, this time 2-1 in the BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 2 upper bracket final to secure a direct semi-final berth. This latest CS2 tournament victory continues FURIA's dominant run in competitive play.

The Brazilian squad, fresh off their Chengdu triumph, continue to display top-tier map control, strong utility usage, and confident mid-round calling under Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo, proving they're no longer just contenders but proven champions on LAN.

From Chengdu Champions to BLAST Semi-Finalists

At Chengdu, Danil "molodoy" Golubenko and Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis powered FURIA to a commanding 3-0 win over Vitality in the best-of-five grand final. With consistent entry fragging, sharp trading, and clutch plays on Ancient, Inferno, and Overpass, the duo's impact lifted FURIA to their first tier-one LAN title with the new lineup.

That momentum carried into Hong Kong. In Group B, FURIA and Vitality met again in the upper final. FURIA opened strong with a 13-11 win on Nuke, using aggressive T-side executes and smart post-plant positioning. Vitality hit back in overtime on Overpass (16-13) after key multi-kills from William "mezii" Merriman and Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut, but the Brazilians closed it out on Inferno (13-5) with clinical CT-side holds and confident retakes.

molodoy once again topped the scoreboard with a 1.16 rating, 73.2 ADR, and several key AWP clutches, while Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato and YEKINDAR anchored sites with rock-solid crossfire setups.

Best CS2 Players Step Up as Vitality Struggle

For Vitality, ZywOo and mezii were the only consistent bright spots, but even their high headshot percentages couldn't offset the team's struggles in late-round situations. FURIA's tempo shifts and eco-round conversions punished every Vitality misstep. The best CS2 players on FURIA's roster consistently outperformed their opponents across all three maps.

It's the second time in one week that FalleN's FURIA have beaten Dan "apEX" Madesclaire's Vitality, a rivalry that's quickly turning into one-sided dominance. After the match, analysts noted FURIA's improved IGL structure and mid-round adaptation, which consistently outmaneuvered Vitality's defensive setups.

As Janko "YNk" Paunović said after the Chengdu final, "FURIA are finally playing a brand of Counter-Strike that's both Brazilian and world-class."

Fantasy Favorites and Fan Confidence

FURIA's form isn't just showing in results but is also reflected in BLAST Rivals Fantasy stats. The Brazilians are now the most-picked team of the event, with over 10,000 player selections. molodoy and YEKINDAR have become Fantasy favorites, thanks to their high K-D differentials, strong impact ratings, and consistent first kill success rates.

They lead ahead of Falcons and Vitality, proving that the fan base now believes FURIA are the team to beat.

Is a rivalry brewing

With their upper bracket win, FURIA advance directly to the semi-finals, awaiting the winner of paiN vs Passion UA, while Falcons sit on the other side ready to face the Vitality vs Spirit victor.

For Vitality, another early setback means ZywOo and apEX must regroup quickly if they want to stay alive in the best-of-three playoffs. For FURIA, though, confidence is sky-high as their firepower and team chemistry are peaking at the perfect time.

TL;DR

FURIA defeated Vitality 2-1 at BLAST Rivals just four days after sweeping them 3-0 at IEM Chengdu
molodoy and YEKINDAR led the charge with elite performances across all maps
FURIA now advance directly to the semi-finals while Vitality must fight through the lower bracket