G2’s campaign at the Esports World Cup 2026 concluded in the quarter-finals after a series defeat to FURIA in Paris. Nemanja “huNter-” Kovac addressed the team’s performance, highlighting a lack of preparation for the opening map as a primary factor in their slow start.
Caught off guard in the veto
The series began on Ancient. During the veto phase, FURIA opted not to ban the map, a decision that surprised the G2 camp.
We didn’t expect them to leave Ancient open because that’s their instaban,” huNter- explained. “We expected some other map and we didn’t prepare for that. But that’s not an excuse. They are not playing that map and we should have won 10 out of 10.
G2 failed to find their footing in the opener. While they bounced back with a victory on Anubis, the European squad ultimately lost the series after FURIA secured early momentum on Dust2. While huNter- accepted the overall defeat, he remained critical of the team’s execution on the first map.
It’s fine to lose, but the way we lost this Ancient was terrible,” he stated, adding that he plans to review the footage to understand the breakdown in their gameplay.
Integrating r1nkle into the system
The event in Paris marked the first offline tournament for G2 since adding Artem “r1nkle” Moroz to the active lineup.
When asked about the roster change and whether he had to take on more responsibilities following the departure of their previous player, who was a loud communicative presence in the server, huNter- clarified that his own role remains unchanged. He also praised the communication skills of the new arrival.
I’m doing the same like I was doing before,” he said. “r1nkle as well, his communication is amazing and he is doing a lot of things mid round. Obviously it’s the beginning and he needs to just get used to us and we need to get used to him. I think it will be better.
G2 will return to competition in five days. The focus is now on correcting in-game errors before their next appearance.
This is first LAN with him,” huNter- concluded. “I’m happy with the result overall but I cannot be happy with the way that we lost today. It’s fine to lose but I think we needed to put more fight.
