FURIA claim breakthrough trophy with 3-0 win over Vitality in Chengdu

Having risen towards the top of the pile with wins at lesser events, FURIA emphasised their world-beating credentials with a confident victory over Vitality.

FURIA have secured their first top-tier LAN trophy since the additions of Danil "⁠molodoy⁠" Golubenko and Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis, taking down Vitality in confident 3-0 fashion to secure the IEM Chengdu title.

Having risen up the rankings in the second half of the year with wins at FISSURE Playground 2 and Thunderpick World Championships, FURIA were yet to prove their title-winning credentials at an event with all of the biggest teams in attendance.

Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo and his troops emphatically secured a breakthrough trophy in Chengdu with a flawless playoff run, bagging 2-0 wins over The MongolZ and Falcons before securing the 3-0 over Vitality.

Vitality were seemingly punished for a veto strategy that Janko "⁠YNk⁠" Paunović called "overcooked" on the broadcast prior to the game, allowing their permaban of Ancient through for FURIA to pick as the first map.

molodoy wins 1v2 to turn the half

Ancient opened with FURIA converting the pistol to start 3-0, before Vitality's defensive aggression started to take hold, the European side converting rounds both with B Lane and Mid pushes. molodoy was the man to turn the tides, producing a 3K on a low buy and a beautiful 1v2 clutch to guide his team to a winning half.

William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman aced the second-half pistol and Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut went marauding into B with an entry fragging AWP, setting Vitality up for a potential map win, only for FURIA to answer back. Yuri "⁠yuurih⁠" Santos and YEKINDAR started to get a handle on Vitality's B hits, and when Vitality did get close FalleN came up clutch to guide his team to an opening map victory.

flameZ's stalwart 3K Banana hold saves Vitality

Vitality were the ones to start Inferno with a bang, ZywOo finding impact round after impact round to help his squad cruise to a 5-0 lead on offesnse. Then the map became very scrappy, two impactful yuurih rounds getting FURIA on the board before chaos ensued. Man-disadvantage rounds were won, pistol buys were converted, and neither team could build a streak as the map hit halftime with Vitality holding a narrow lead.

The second half saw FURIA come out of the gates and build a streak of rounds, despite some wobbles, FalleN seemingly outcalling Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire to pile the pressure on Vitality. Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan put up two big rounds to stop the streak, but a Tec-9 buy overwhelmed Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool and ZywOo on the A site and led to FURIA taking a 2-0 series lead.

Gnarly molodoy 4K keeps FURIA's CT side rolling

Another strong Vitality start opened Overpass, the European combine getting big rounds out of ZywOo, ropz and apEX to give themselves a healthy 6-1 cushion. molodoy's Tec-9 popped up with another good round, allowing FURIA to cobble together a few more, but Vitality still closed the half with a commanding 8-4 lead.

FURIA took over in the second half, YEKINDAR opening proceedings with a 3K pistol round before continuing to produce stellar output, highlight moments by molodoy and FalleN sprinkled in to keep the team rolling. apEX had his moment with a stellar 1v3, and Vitality limped a couple rounds over the line, but FURIA were not to be denied as they stormed over the finish line to close the series.

More highlights:

• mezii posts sick 4K hold on B

• molodoy magic gives FURIA back the lead

• mezii aces FURIA in the pistol

• ZywOo's entry fragging AWP 4K

• flameZ finds more impact with 4K

• ZywOo 4K puts Vitality in driver's seat

• apEX halts FURIA's streak with insane 1v3

• FalleN stands tall with 4K hold on B