M80 vs. FURIA at BLAST Open Porto 2026:Three Finals,Three Losses
FURIA face M80 in Group A's upper semifinal fresh off three straight losses in the deciding matches of three straight events — and M80 fresh off eliminating Natus Vincere for the second time.
M80 and FURIA meet in Group A's upper-bracket semifinal at BLAST Open Porto 2026 on August 28, with a direct spot in the playoff semifinals on the line. Both come off wins in their openers — M80 upset Natus Vincere 2-1, FURIA routed paiN 2-0 — but FURIA's win carried more weight than the scoreline alone suggests.
It was FURIA's first win after three straight defeats in the deciding matches of three straight events.
Match
M80 vs. FURIA
Tournament
BLAST Open Porto 2026Stage
Group A · Upper Semis
Date
August 28, 2026
Time
18:30 CEST
Format
Best of 3
Player names link to their HLTV.org profiles.
Three Finals, Three Losses
FURIA reached the business end of three consecutive big events and lost all three: swept 0-3 by Falcons in the IEM Cologne Major grand final, beaten 1-2 by FUT in the Esports World Cup 2026 semi-final, then beaten 1-2 by Legacy in that same tournament's all-Brazilian third-place match. Coach sidde called the EWC result "not the real FURIA" afterward — a top-four finish he described as rationally fine but emotionally difficult.
The 2-0 win over paiN that opened this tournament was the first result since that stretch. YEKINDAR made the connection himself afterward: "After EWC, we felt angry at ourselves; I guess that actually helped." One win doesn't erase three losses, but it's the first data point suggesting the frustration is turning into something useful.
Not M80's First Time Doing This to NAVI
M80's opening-round win over Natus Vincere wasn't a one-off. M80 eliminated NAVI once before, at BLAST Open London in 2025. NAVI's Mihai "iM" Ivan didn't look for excuses after the Porto rematch: "We couldn't do it for some reason, some small details... we also lost full USP, which definitely doesn't help us at all." M80's own Lake had said before the tournament: "I think we're playing better, even if it doesn't really show in the scores."
M80 sit at #38 in the world, but they were as high as #18 just five weeks ago. Against FURIA specifically, the head-to-head skews heavily the other way — FURIA lead 8 maps to 3 across their history — but M80's lone series win in that history, at BLAST Open Lisbon 2025, came 2-1.
A Clock Running in the Background
FURIA are also playing this stretch under a deadline of sorts: FalleN's retirement is approaching, and coach sidde confirmed on August 24 that YEKINDAR taking over as full-time in-game leader — a role he already shares on Ancient, Anubis and Cache — is one option under consideration for after this season, with no final call made yet. It's not the reason FURIA are here this week, but it's part of why closing out matches like this one carries a bit more weight for this specific lineup right now.
What's on the Line
The winner advances directly to Group A's upper final on August 31 and a guaranteed spot in the playoff semifinals. The loser drops into the lower bracket on August 30 and has to win out from there just to reach the playoffs at all. For FURIA, back-to-back wins would be the clearest sign yet that the Cologne-EWC stretch is behind them; for M80, a second straight upset would make their opening-round win look a lot less like an outlier.
More BLAST Open Porto 2026 Coverage
See the full bracket, schedule and every result so far.
