FURIA sweep G2 to secure fifth straight playoff run

FURIA sweep G2 to secure fifth straight playoff run

The day’s headline result came from Group B’s upper-bracket semi-final, where FURIA took down G2 in two maps — 13–5 on Train and 16–14 in overtime on Overpass — to lock in a playoff slot at IEM Chengdu.

Train, G2’s pick, actually started well for the European side as they built a 4–1 lead on the T side. FURIA’s comeback began with a low-buy round anchored by a crucial AWP play from Danil “molodoy” Golubenko; from there the Brazilians strung together ten straight rounds on the CT side and never looked back, closing out G2’s choice 13–5.

Overpass was far more volatile. FURIA stumbled on their CT side and went into the half only level at 6–6, then saw G2 seize control on the attack to reach map point with only a single round dropped. Despite underwhelming numbers from in-game leader Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, FURIA mounted a late-game recovery, forced overtime, and edged out a 16–14 finish to complete the sweep.

This victory marks FURIA’s fifth playoff appearance in a row and keeps them on course for what would be their third trophy of 2025, following their breakthrough triumphs at FISSURE Playground 2 and the Thunderpick World Championship 2025.

Form coming into Chengdu

FURIA arrived in China as one of the hottest teams in CS2:

In September, they finally broke their Big-Event curse by winning FISSURE Playground 2 over The MongolZ in a five-map epic in Belgrade.

In October, they completed a reverse-sweep against Natus Vincere in a best-of-five final to claim the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 title, with KSCERATO earning MVP honors.

That form translated immediately to Chengdu: on opening day FURIA dismantled Lynn Vision 2–0 (13–8 Dust2, 13–2 Overpass) to move into the upper bracket, setting up the clash with G2.

Star rifler Yuri “yuurih” Santos described both the fatigue and the confidence that come with this busy stretch of events:

“We’re so confident right now. We’re doing a great job, everyone is playing well.” 

He also admitted this is the first time the team has felt tired of playing Counter-Strike because “every match you are playing is tough” once you’re consistently going deep at big events, underlining how demanding this calendar has been.

AWPer molodoy, who topped the scoreboard against G2, has been one of the faces of FURIA’s rise since joining earlier in the year. Reflecting on the team’s trajectory after their FISSURE win, he told HLTV that “the future depends on us and us only,” a line that feels even more relevant now that FURIA sit among the world’s elite and are ranked inside the top two teams globally.

Even looking back to the previous IEM Chengdu in 2024, you can see how far the project has come. Then-IGL Andrei “arT” Piovezan stressed that “we know the pressure we’re under” and spoke about the need for a good result in China to rebuild confidence after Major disappointment. A year and a revamped roster later, FURIA are returning to Chengdu not as underperformers under scrutiny but as one of the tournament favorites.

G2 fall short after promising start to the event

For G2, the defeat is a setback after what had looked like a convincing start. They opened IEM Chengdu with a comfortable 2–0 victory over 3DMAX, gaining a measure of revenge over the French squad that had previously knocked them out of ESL Pro League.

Rifler Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa recently spoke about how the team needed a break to rediscover their form, saying:

“We had a little bit of a burnout, traveling and traveling with CS, and we just needed a mental reset.” 

He also emphasized that a strong run in Chengdu would be crucial for building confidence before the next Major, especially with G2 skipping BLAST Rivals in Hong Kong — making this loss to FURIA particularly costly in terms of seeding and momentum.

G2 now drop into the lower bracket of Group B, where they’ll need a flawless run to keep their playoff hopes alive in one of the most stacked events of the season.

Lynn Vision edge 3DMAX to stay alive at home

Down in the Group B lower bracket, Lynn Vision kept the Chinese crowd onside with a gritty 2–1 win over 3DMAX, ending the Europeans’ tournament.

Dust2 (Lynn Vision pick) – 16–13: A scrappy, swingy map went all the way to overtime before the home side finally closed it out.

Inferno (3DMAX pick) – 7–13: 3DMAX turned a 5–7 deficit into a dominant CT-side display, powered by big performances from Lucky, bodyy, and Maka, to level the series.

Train decider – 13–10 Lynn Vision: 3DMAX recovered from an early 1–5 start to trail by only two rounds at the half and even grabbed five of the first six after the switch, but Lynn Vision stabilized, broke the French side’s economy, and rode the momentum to a 13–10 map and series victory.

Statistically, Sike “z4kr” Zhang led the way with a +16 K-D differential over the three maps, while Zhe “Westmelon” Niu and Junjie “EmiliaQAQ” Tang also posted important multi-frag rounds in key moments.

The result is particularly sweet for Lynn Vision considering their recent history against 3DMAX: the French roster beat them 2–0 at the CS Asia Championships 2025 lower bracket in October, knocking the Chinese side out of the event. Chengdu gives Lynn Vision a measure of revenge on a much bigger stage.

From a betting perspective, most bookmakers had 3DMAX as the favorites going into this lower-bracket clash, making the comeback victory one of the more notable underdog stories of the group stage so far.

Lynn Vision and the weight of the home crowd

Lynn Vision’s run is happening against a broader narrative of Chinese CS2 trying to break through at top-tier events. In earlier interviews around their Major qualification, z4kr said playing a big event on home soil “feels like a dream” and talked about wanting to fight for their home audience — a sentiment that fits perfectly with their Chengdu campaign.

Tournament context: what’s next in Chengdu?

IEM Chengdu 2025 is a 16-team, $1,000,000 CS2 event running from November 3–9 at the Chengdu Financial City Performing Arts Center, with a live crowd in attendance for the entire tournament.

The format:

• Two GSL-style groups (A and B), eight teams each

• All group matches are best-of-three

• Top three teams from each group advance to the single-elimination playoffs, with group winners seeded directly into the semi-finals.

After today’s results:

• FURIA move on to play the winner of MOUZ vs Vitality in the Group B upper-bracket final, with a semi-final seed on the line.

• Lynn Vision will face the loser of that same MOUZ–Vitality matchup in another elimination match, hoping to produce one more upset for the home fans.

• 3DMAX are the first team from Group B to be sent home from Chengdu.

With FURIA chasing a third trophy of the year and Lynn Vision feeding off the Chengdu crowd, Group B is shaping up as one of the most compelling storylines of the event — and there’s still plenty of Counter-Strike to be played.