FUT have laid claim to a Stage 3 berth in the IEM Cologne Major, battling past G2 in a hard-fought 2-1 series for the honor. FUT now join the likes of Spirit, who likewise clinched a Stage 3 spot earlier in the day with a 3-0 Swiss record.
FUT entered the Major off the back of a disappointing 9-12th finish at IEM Atlanta, their first outing with Laurențiu “lauNX” Țârlea in tow after the Romanian rifler missed the team’s outing at BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 1.
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Despite the poor pre-Major showing, FUT have gotten off to a solid start in their debut Major campaign, pushing past B8 and TYLOO in best-of-ones before claiming G2’s scalp to secure their spot in Stage 3.
“I’m not surprised [by the team’s performance],” Džiugas “dziugss” Steponavičius shared immediately after his team’s win over G2. “We prepared good for this tournament, and we’re not taking it as something special, so we don’t have the extra pressure.”
The series kicked off in interesting fashion, as FUT elected to pick Anubis, playing the map for the first time in nearly three months. The pick paid off at first, as FUT quickly built up an 8-4 lead on the defense, powered by a solid showing from Aulon “Krabeni” Fazlija. FUT claimed the second pistol, but were denied the conversion by G2, stunting their momentum on the offense. After G2 managed to tie the game 9-9, FUT regained their composure and began grinding out rounds, narrowly securing their pick 13-11.
FUT hit the ground running on the defense on G2’s pick of Overpass, racking up a 5-0 lead to kick things off. However, FUT’s momentum stalled midway through the half, allowing G2 to claim control of the half with a 7-5 scoreline.
“We started hesitating a lot,” dziugss shared about the team’s loss of momentum on Overpass. “We went into a setup, and then we switched it, and then we did something else. That’s how it went basically after the 5-0.”
A pistol round and conversion for G2 on the defense reaffirmed their place in the driver’s seat on Overpass, giving them the tools they needed to lock down their pick 13-7 shortly thereafter.
Despite their limp showing on Overpass, FUT found new life on Ancient. Krabeni had yet another strong showing, this time posting a whopping 2.18 rating by virtue of his 25-8 K/D and 134 ADR. Supported by solid output from Dmytro “dem0n” Myroshnychenko and lauNX, FUT had little trouble maintaining control of the map. Even though G2 won both pistols, FUT still managed to secure a 13-4 victory on Ancient to secure their place in Stage 3.
