The FURIA captain says the team has played too many events to practise properly. On Thursday, the defending champions meet Legacy for a place in the playoffs in Malta, after Falcons take on 9z in Group A.
FalleN did not try to hide it. Speaking on the Thunderpick World Championship broadcast before FURIA opened their title defence against BETBOOM, the 35-year-old was asked how the team was coping with a packed calendar in his final season.
Yeah, we definitely overbooked a lot of tournaments this season. It’s been a little bit rough because we’re not winning the tournaments, and then we don’t have much time to practice.
FalleN said the team has changed its daily routine during events to find time to work on its game. “We’ve got to find a way to revitalize our game as we’re going through the competition,” he said, adding that FURIA are “not far from the results we want to have, but at the same time, we’re not close either.”
FURIA won the opener 2-0. On Thursday at 18:00 CEST, they face Legacy in the Group B winners’ match, with a semi-final spot for the winner.
Six events in ten weeks
The numbers back up the captain. Malta is FURIA’s sixth event since the start of August, after the Esports World Cup, BLAST Open Fall, FISSURE Playground #3, StarSeries Fall and ESL Pro League Season 24. PGL Masters Bucharest follows from 24 October, before the Major in Singapore in December.
The results have not followed. FURIA have not won a trophy since BLAST Rivals Fall in November 2025, despite reaching the final of the Cologne Major in June and IEM Kraków in February. Their last five events ended in fourth, fifth to sixth twice, third and fifth to eighth.
FURIA flew back to their base in Malta early after losing to MOUZ in the Pro League quarter-finals, which gave them several days of practice before the event. “It’s like a second home for us,” FalleN said of the island.
Comebacks against BETBOOM
The opener showed both sides of the team. FURIA trailed 4-8 on both Ancient and Mirage before winning 13-10 and 13-9, with KSCERATO the best player in the series with a 1.72 rating and 40 kills. molodoy added 1.21, while FalleN finished on 0.74, the lowest rating on the server.
| Player | Team | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|
 KSCERATO |  FURIA | 1.72 |
 m0NESY |  Falcons | 1.62 |
 luchov |  9z | 1.61 |
 HUASOPEEK | 9z | 1.45 |
| zweih |  PARIVISION | 1.23 |
| dumau |  Legacy | 1.21 |
Day one results
- 9z 2-0 Aurora
: Inferno 13-11, Nuke 13-1 - Falcons 2-0 Ninjas in Pyjamas
: Ancient 16-13, Dust2 13-6 - Legacy 2-0 PARIVISION : Dust2 13-11, Mirage 16-14
- FURIA 2-0 BETBOOM
: Ancient 13-10, Mirage 13-9
The only upset came from 9z, who beat Aurora, third at Pro League last week, and finished the series with a 13-1 on Nuke. According to coach BIT, who spoke to HLTV after the match, the team had “started to doubt a lot of things” after winning only four of 13 matches since their XSE Pro League title in July.
Falcons needed overtime on Ancient against Ninjas in Pyjamas, while arT returned from meningitis with a 2-0 win for Legacy, who also needed overtime on Mirage against PARIVISION.
Thursday’s matches
All times are CEST.
- 10:35: Aurora vs Ninjas in Pyjamas (Group A elimination match)
- 13:00: 9z vs Falcons (Group A winners’ match)
- 15:30: PARIVISION vs BETBOOM (Group B elimination match)
- 18:00: Legacy vs FURIA (Group B winners’ match)
The two winners’ matches send their winners straight to Saturday’s semi-finals. The losers get a second chance in the deciders on Friday.
A Brazilian derby with history
Legacy have the upper hand this year. They beat FURIA in the third-place match at the Esports World Cup in August and in one other meeting this season, which FalleN acknowledged in an interview with Hotspawn before the event. “I’m expecting to beat them next time we meet them, but I know it’s going to be difficult,” he said.
KSCERATO, the MVP of last year’s Thunderpick World Championship, compared the match to the biggest derby in Brazilian football. “It’s going to be a war, I’m sure. It’s Corinthians vs Palmeiras,” he told Dust2 Brasil (translated from Portuguese).
Results, groups and the full schedule are on our Thunderpick World Championship 2026 page.
