YEKINDAR on the favorites for the 2026 Esports World Cup in CS2: “The team that has the best day will simply take it all.”
FURIA rifler Marek “YEKINDAR” Galinskis, in an interview at the 2026 Esports World Cup CS2, commented on the victory over 9z Team, discussed FURIA’s preparation on Mirage, and assessed the team’s chances in the tournament.
On the victory over 9z Team
We’ve met the basic minimum requirement, and that’s certainly satisfying. It’s also nice that, in our view, it was a confident performance. On Mirage, we were a bit unlucky at certain moments. It seems to me that in key situations, we sort of forgot some of the things we’d agreed on, and that’s why we couldn’t close out the map the way we wanted to. But Nuke went very smoothly—KSCERATO had an excellent performance, and everyone looked good, which is the main thing that makes us happy.
On the loss on Mirage
Last time against 9z Team, we also lost this map, and I think we’ve put in a lot of work on it. We had the option to ban it, keep Ancient, and all that. But we decided that the only way to get better on the map was to actually play a lot on it, and today we gave ourselves the chance to play on it.
On FURIA’s chances in the tournament
The season has just begun, so it’s hard to really assess the teams’ form right now. For example, before the Major in Cologne, I wouldn’t have said that, theoretically, we were contenders to win or make it to the final. That’s why I think any team can pull off a surprise—right now in CS, every team is strong enough to beat anyone. The team that has the best day will just take it all.
Earlier, FURIA defeated 9z Team 2–1 in the group stage of the 2026 Esports World Cup for Counter-Strike 2. As a result, Marek “YEKINDAR” Galinskis’s team advanced to the tournament’s playoffs, which begin today.
