FURIA postpone break to “give back to Malta,” says FalleN after booking Thunderpick WC final

FURIA marched into the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 grand final in Malta after a clean 2–0 semi-final over Aurora, their third meeting with the Turks this season. The Brazilians were sharp across both maps—tight but deserved on the opener and then firmly in control after stabilizing their T-side economy—reining in Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş, who’d hurt them in previous encounters. 

Speaking after the win, captain Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo explained why FURIA added the event to an already packed calendar: “We have been based in Malta for a long time… They invited us and the organization decided it was worth playing it. We wanted to be here, so we postponed the week break… because we like to give back to Malta.” He also noted part of the game plan that blunted Aurora’s star: on Overpass CT, FURIA’s AWP was often ready for XANTARES’ duels, forcing Aurora into uncomfortable mid-rounds. 

The win set up a grand final against NAVI—a fresh matchup for this FURIA lineup. NAVI’s in-game leader Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen welcomed the clash, praising FURIA’s identity: “They have a unique style that’s always nice to watch,” he said after NAVI squeezed past The MongolZ to reach the final. 

What happened next (related updates)

KSCERATO claims MVP after a comeback final: Following the semi-final, FURIA overturned a 0–2 start in the best-of-five grand final. Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato earned his first MVP medal, with HLTV highlighting that even with AWPer Danil “molodoy” Golubenko under the weather mid-series, he rallied to top the last two maps.

Tournament background: Thunderpick World Championship 2025 took place in Malta on October 15–19, with eight teams on LAN and FURIA opening versus OG.

Additional context & storyline threads

Recent FURIA–Aurora history: The semi carried extra spice given Aurora’s 2–1 win over FURIA for bronze at PGL Astana (May 18, 2025)—a result that had reinforced Aurora’s rise. That backdrop makes FURIA’s convincing 2–0 here a notable course correction.

Aurora’s route in Malta: Aurora clinched the last playoff berth by beating Venom and arrived in the semis with Wicadia in form, before running into FURIA. Teammate Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli had recently spoken about the team’s late-game issues and costly collapses—admissions that framed their Malta run.

FalleN’s 2025 perspective: Earlier this year, FalleN discussed CS2’s new circuit and FURIA’s adjustments, including his move toward more anchoring/rifling to mirror how elite teams deploy hyper-impact AWPers. Those comments underscore FURIA’s evolving identity that showed through in Malta.