molodoy on reaching this point so quickly: "I dreamt, I knew, and I had faith that I could"

He may have just won his maiden Big Event but the 20-year-old already has his eyes on challenges ahead.

Danil "⁠molodoy⁠" Golubenko has come a long way in a short time.

The 20-year-old, a product of Siberia's cold winters like Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets, has gone from strength to strength since his first professional match just 18 months ago.

Read more

HLTV Prospect Report #1

At FISSURE Playground 2 that progress was rewarded with an MVP medal and a Big Event title, but the Kazakh sniper is still focussed on improvement: "There's always something to aspire to," he told HLTV after the final.

"The biggest aspiration is English. If I had 100% English, I would be able to call and suggest things to my team. Right now I'm not doing a lot of it, but I'm trying."

FURIA are already 3rd in the VRS, an explosion of growth since going international by signing molodoy and Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis. They have won their first Big Event after eight years of trying.

And they're not done yet. "The future depends on us and us only," molodoy says, with all eyes on the Budapest Major in December.

Read more

molodoy takes FISSURE Playground 2 MVP

---

molodoy, you just won your first Big Event at FISSURE Playground 2. How does it feel?

It feels very nice, thanks a lot to my team for their support and belief in me. When I joined the team, I knew we would reach a high level, and now it has happened — we won our first event. And we won't stop at this, 100%.

The event also ends FURIA's wait for the title. Are you proud to have secured their first trophy?

I think there are more big tournaments and the Major. So you always want to win the Major, we will set ourselves up for the Major. But winning in an event is always great, it's great emotions.

So I think we will set ourselves up for the next tournament, which is EPL. Although my road there will be tough because I will need a visa, so I will need to go to Kazakhstan and won't be practice before the tournament at all. It will be a tough road for the next event.

You're already thinking about the next tournament, but don't you feel that something big and significant has happened just now?

Probably not. Perhaps I knew that we were able to win. But of course it's significant for me because I won my first event, and in that way, I feel a very strong joy. So I am very happy.

You got an MVP award at the tournament. How satisfied are you with your performance here?

Performance in the playoffs was much better than in the group stage, but there's always something to aspire to. The biggest aspiration is English. If I had 100% English, I would be able to call and suggest things to my team. Right now I'm not doing a lot of it, but I'm trying. There's always something to aspire to.

Five months ago, you were still in AMKAL. Could you have imagined reaching this point so quickly?

I dreamt, I knew, and I had faith in myself that I could. And so I was given a chance by FURIA. The team put faith in me - FalleN, yuurih, KSCERATO, Mareks put faith in me and picked me up, and I started to play well. So it's all thanks to the team and the organization, because they took me in. I'm just showing myself, and I'm very happy to be playing for FURIA.

How much did FalleN's experience help you on your path?

FalleN's experience always helps, 100%. You always learn something. How he calls, how he understands the game, how he thinks. But still, there are differences, because we think a bit differently. He has a more passive style, while I have an aggressive one. Sometimes his playstyle helps me, sometimes it doesn't. So I'm looking for a balance, and that will make it much easier for me to play.

Considering your rapid improvement, what does the future hold for the team?

I think the future depends on just five of us and our coach. It will depend on how we will approach tournaments and how we play them. The future depends on us and us only.

Do you now feel like one of the best teams in the world?

It isn't like we're the best right now. The team to win the Major is the best team. So we just won a tournament, we have played well, but there's still something to aspire to.

Maybe you feel that you entered that specific super elite tier 1 teams, so you're ready to be in the same conversation as Vitality or MOUZ?

I think it's been a while since we have shown that we're able to compete with any teams. Today is an example with MongolZ, and yesterday we won against Falcons. So I think all the teams playing against us are getting prepared for us specifically and understand that they can lose.

Read more

FURIA win FISSURE Playground 2, ending long wait for Big Event trophy