FURIA dismantle G2 on Ancient and Dust2 to reach EWC 2026 semi-finals

FURIA are through to the Esports World Cup 2026 semi-finals after overpowering G2 in a wildly one-sided three-map quarter-final, winning 13-3 on Ancient and 13-4 on Dust2 on either side of a 3-13 defeat on Anubis.

The 2-1 victory on August 20 kept FURIA's title run alive in Paris and ended G2's first LAN campaign with Artem "r1nkle" Moroz in the quarter-finals. The Brazilian-majority side entered the series ranked No. 3 in the world against No. 10 G2 and ultimately made that gap look substantial whenever the match moved away from Anubis.

Quick Summary

Detail	Information
Tournament	Esports World Cup 2026
Match	G2 vs FURIA
Result	FURIA 2-1 G2
Maps	Ancient 13-3 FURIA, Anubis 13-3 G2, Dust2 13-4 FURIA
Stage	Quarter-final
Standout player	molodoy — 24-4, 2.18 rating on Dust2
Main storyline	FURIA dominated G2's Ancient pick and then crushed the Dust2 decider

The best-of-three veto produced an unusual series. G2 removed Nuke before selecting Ancient, while FURIA banned Inferno and answered with Anubis. Mirage and Cache were removed in the second phase, leaving Dust2 as the deciding map.

What Happened?

G2 arrived in the quarter-finals with momentum after defeating Astralis 2-1 in the Round of 16. FURIA had endured a considerably more chaotic route, surviving Aurora 2-1 after comeback victories on Ancient and Mirage.

That made G2's decision to pick Ancient understandable on paper. FURIA had rarely leaned on the map during 2026, and they had even removed it earlier in the tournament against 9z.

Instead, Ancient turned into FURIA's most convincing map of the series.

G2 recovered by completely reversing the match on Anubis, but their resurgence lasted only one map. Once Dust2 began, FURIA returned to the same aggressive, confident Counter-Strike that had dismantled G2 on the opener.

The final scoreline was unusual for a three-map playoff series: the losing team managed only 10 rounds across the two maps it dropped, while both sides recorded a 13-3 victory.

Ancient — FURIA win 13-3

G2's map pick backfired immediately.

FURIA established control from the T side and carried a 9-3 lead into halftime. G2 never generated a recovery after switching sides, with FURIA taking all four rounds of the second half to close the map 13-3.

Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis was at the center of the damage. He finished Ancient with a 1.83 rating, while Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato posted 1.65 and Yuri "yuurih" Santos recorded 1.58. All five FURIA players comfortably contributed to a map on which G2 struggled to establish either individual openings or sustained economic control.

The contrast was particularly damaging for G2 because Ancient was supposed to pressure an area of FURIA's map pool that had received limited attention. Instead of finding a weakness, G2 gave their opponents an immediate confidence boost.

Anubis — G2 win 13-3

The series changed completely on FURIA's pick.

This time it was G2 who built the 9-3 first-half lead, with their offense finding repeated success before an even shorter second half. G2 won four straight rounds after the switch and closed the map 13-3 without allowing FURIA onto the board as CTs.

Nikita "HeavyGod" Martynenko drove the recovery with an excellent individual map, recording 18 kills and a 2.00 rating. Guy "NertZ" Iluz added a 1.45 rating, giving G2 the firepower that had been largely absent on Ancient.

FURIA, meanwhile, almost disappeared offensively. KSCERATO and Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo combined for only seven kills across the entire map, leaving YEKINDAR as the only FURIA player to finish Anubis with a rating above 1.00.

For a moment, the match appeared completely reset.

Dust2 showed otherwise.

Dust2 — FURIA win 13-4

The decider was the Danil "molodoy" Golubenko show.

FURIA again produced a 9-3 offensive half, but this time there was no G2 response waiting on the other side. FalleN's team conceded only one round after halftime and closed Dust2 13-4 to secure their place in the semi-finals.

molodoy delivered one of the most dominant individual maps of the EWC playoffs so far. The 21-year-old AWPer finished 24-4 with 135.4 ADR, 100% KAST and a 2.18 rating. He was particularly destructive during FURIA's T side, where he went 12-0 in the relevant statistical split.

No G2 player managed to keep pace. r1nkle was their highest-rated player on Dust2 at 0.85, while HeavyGod, MATYS, NertZ and huNter- all finished at 0.61 or below.

It was a brutal way for G2's tournament to end: after appearing fully recovered on Anubis, they were immediately pushed back into the same problems that had defined Ancient.

Why This Match Matters

The result puts FURIA into the top four of the $2 million Esports World Cup 2026 and keeps them two series victories away from the trophy.

Their run has required different types of wins. Against Aurora, FURIA had to recover from poor starts and erase large deficits. Against G2, the challenge was different: regain control after being demolished on the second map and deliver under pressure in a decider.

They did exactly that.

FURIA's Ancient performance is also notable beyond this individual series. The map had not been a central part of their recent pool — they removed it against 9z earlier at EWC — but dismantling G2 13-3 gives opponents another result to account for when constructing future vetoes.

For G2, the elimination closes an encouraging but inconsistent first LAN with r1nkle. The Ukrainian AWPer joined in June after SunPayus was benched and had impressed one day earlier with a series-high 1.31 rating against Astralis. Against FURIA, however, he finished the series at 0.79 as G2 were comprehensively beaten on two maps.

There is still an important distinction to make with this G2 roster: EWC was only r1nkle's second tournament with the team and his first LAN appearance in the lineup. The quarter-final exit therefore exposes problems without necessarily defining the ceiling of the new five.

Head-to-Head Context

The teams' previous series came at the StarLadder Budapest Major in December 2025, where FURIA defeated G2 2-0 with wins on Inferno and Overpass. KSCERATO led that series with a 1.56 rating.

That comparison needs context, however.

FURIA were already using their current five of FalleN, yuurih, KSCERATO, YEKINDAR and molodoy, while G2 still fielded SunPayus and Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa alongside huNter-, HeavyGod and MATYS. NertZ later replaced malbsMd, while r1nkle took the AWP from SunPayus in June 2026.

The EWC meeting was therefore the first between FURIA and this exact version of G2.

Key Players

molodoy — FURIA

molodoy did not lead FURIA's overall series rating, but he produced the performance that ended the match. His 24-4 Dust2 was the defining individual display of the quarter-final, and HLTV's match page listed him as the player of the match after his 2.18-rated decider.

YEKINDAR — FURIA

Across all three maps, YEKINDAR was FURIA's statistical leader. He finished 38-29 with 95.5 ADR and a 1.45 rating, including a 1.83 performance on Ancient. His output helped FURIA create pressure even in a series where Anubis went heavily against them.

HeavyGod — G2

HeavyGod was responsible for G2's strongest stretch of the match. His 2.00 rating on Anubis powered the 13-3 equalizer, and he finished as G2's highest-rated player across the complete series at 0.95.

r1nkle — G2

The new G2 AWPer had entered the quarter-final after starring against Astralis but was unable to reproduce that impact. He went 27-34 with a 0.79 series rating, although he was still G2's best-rated player during their difficult Dust2 decider.

Interesting Facts and Context

• FURIA were ranked No. 3 and G2 No. 10 at the time of the quarter-final.
• YEKINDAR's 1.45 series rating was the highest on either team, despite molodoy producing the match's standout individual map.
• molodoy finished Dust2 with 24 kills and only four deaths.
• G2 entered the match on a three-match winning run that included victories over M80, BIG and Astralis.
• FURIA had already survived two three-map series at EWC against 9z and Aurora before eliminating G2 by the same 2-1 scoreline.
• G2's EWC run was r1nkle's first LAN appearance for the organization following his June move from Ninjas in Pyjamas.

What Comes Next?

FURIA will return on August 22 for the Esports World Cup semi-finals, where they are scheduled to face the winner of the quarter-final between FUT and MOUZ. The semi-final remains a best-of-three, with the winner advancing to the August 23 best-of-five grand final.

FUT and MOUZ already met during the EWC group stage, with FUT winning that series 2-1, so either outcome would give FURIA a very different tactical matchup in the next round.

G2, meanwhile, leave Paris with a top-eight finish. The flashes shown by the new lineup — particularly r1nkle's performance against Astralis and the team's dominant Anubis against FURIA — offer something to build on, but the 13-3 and 13-4 defeats also showed how quickly their structure can unravel when they lose control of the opening exchanges.

FAQ

Who won G2 vs FURIA at EWC 2026?

FURIA defeated G2 2-1 in the Esports World Cup 2026 quarter-finals on August 20.

What were the map scores?

FURIA won Ancient 13-3, G2 answered with a 13-3 victory on Anubis, and FURIA closed the series 13-4 on Dust2.

Who was the standout player?

molodoy produced the biggest individual map, finishing Dust2 24-4 with a 2.18 rating. YEKINDAR had FURIA's highest overall series rating at 1.45.

Who will FURIA play next at EWC 2026?

FURIA will face the winner of FUT vs MOUZ in the semi-finals on August 22.

When did FURIA and G2 last play before EWC 2026?

Their previous series was at the StarLadder Budapest Major on December 5, 2025, when FURIA won 2-0. G2 have changed two players since that meeting.