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A night of pure Counter-Strike chaos

Brazilian Counter-Strike fans couldn’t have asked for a better Sunday.
FURIA delivered one of the most dramatic comebacks of the year, clawing back from 0–2 down to beat Natus Vincere 3–2 and win the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 in Malta. The victory marks FURIA’s second LAN trophy in just a month, and with it, they’ve cemented their status as serious contenders heading into the Budapest Major.

The win also completed a dream day for Brazil, coming only hours after Legacy lifted their first international title at the CS Asia Championships 2025 in Shanghai.

NAVI dominate early before FURIA turn the tide

The best-of-five final looked all but done after two maps.
NAVI started with clinical precision, taking Mirage 13–6 and Inferno 13–9. Their attack was sharp, b1t and iM were firing, and FURIA looked flat. Even FalleN’s 1v1 pistol clutch on Mirage wasn’t enough to spark a comeback.

But on Nuke, everything changed.
KSCERATO and FalleN led a rock-solid defence with 28 combined frags, while a late 3v3 post-plant win swung the momentum Brazil’s way. FURIA closed the map 13–8, and from there, NAVI never recovered.

Dust2 saw molodoy explode with 15 kills in one half, powering FURIA to a dominant 13–5.
Then came Train, where yuurih opened the match with a clean multi-frag, setting up an 11–1 CT half before FalleN sealed the deal with a 4K pistol round. Final score: 13–1, and a 3–2 reverse sweep for the ages.

The heroes behind the miracle

FalleN’s experience proved crucial once again. From clutching impossible rounds on Nuke to keeping the squad calm in overtime-style pressure, the veteran IGL reminded everyone why he’s still called The Professor.
Meanwhile, molodoy’s late-series resurgence had fans calling him Rookie of the Year online, and KSCERATO’s consistency across all five maps earned him the event’s MVP title.

YEKINDAR: “It was very hard”

After the match, Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis admitted the team were running on fumes.

“NAVI is a great team. I’m glad we overcame ourselves,” he said. “Today we woke up with the wrong leg first. molodoy is sick, everybody’s exhausted. But something switched on during the third, fourth, and fifth maps — instincts maybe — and I’m just glad we finished strong.”

FURIA’s mental resilience and trust in each other were clear to see. Even after being battered on the first two maps, they refused to panic, and that composure paid off.

B1ad3 responds to criticism

NAVI’s head coach Andrey “B1ad3” Gorodenskiy was quick to address the loss on X.

The comment sparked a wave of replies, some sympathetic and others far more critical. Fans questioned how NAVI could still be “unprepared” for best-of-fives despite keeping the same core roster for nearly two years.
One user wrote, “Getting paid 20–50k a month and not having a five-map pool sounds like a joke.”
Others simply congratulated both teams for an entertaining final that went the distance.

The road to the trophy

FURIA’s run in Malta was dominant from start to finish:

  • vs OG – 2-0 (Quarter-final)
  • vs The MongolZ – 2-0 (Semi-final)
  • vs Aurora – 2-0 (Upper final)
  • vs Natus Vincere – 3-2 (Grand final)

They didn’t drop a map until the championship match and still finished with a 9-2 record overall, a clear statement ahead of their next events.

What’s next

FURIA now turn their attention to IEM Chengdu and BLAST Rivals 2025, before beginning preparations for the StarLadder Budapest Major.
NAVI, meanwhile, will need to patch up their map pool and regroup if they want to build on their earlier StarSeries Fall title.

Regardless, Malta will be remembered for one thing: the night FURIA refused to die, and Brazilian Counter-Strike reminded the world that it’s still alive and kicking.