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GUIDES
Simple Radar
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Who needs m0NESY when you’ve got molodoy?
With two tournaments played this week there’s a lot to ge tthrough, but spoiler alert: we’re really happy with the winner of one of them.
What the hell has happened to m0NESY?
This guy was a top 3 player in the world. A guy for the big occasion. A human highlight reel. The quickest AWPer in the world, kid lightning, baby s1mple, the chosen one.
So why is he just a bit rubbish now?
Obviously, that’s a little harsh, but seeing him go out with a whimper against FURIA was just sad, man. He was at the bottom of the scoreboard (although, in fairness, he’s sharing it with a ridiculous array of talent) and kinda just looked completely off the pace.
He’s had the odd game, or tournament, in the past where he hasn’t been great, but he’s been more middling-to-good than great recently, and that’s worrying. Not just for Falcons, but for all of us.
There’s no better player to watch than m0NESY in the flow state. Full stop.
As you might have guessed, FURIA smacked Falcons in the semi-final after they did something similar to Astralis, and Falcons knocked out paiN, predictably enough. molodoy, by the way, is one hell of a player.
We may have lost full strength m0NESY, but we gained molodoy. Almost worth it.
On the other side of the bracket, The MongolZ just edged out G2 with HeavyGod having a bit of an off-day (though in fairness, 910 had a much bigger off-day, it just mattered less), while somehow, the ghost of Liquid beat Aurora.
We really need to have a conversation about Aurora in playoffs, man.
It wasn’t even massively close either. Twistzz and NAF were playing like it was 2019 again, and sadly, so were most of Aurora.
If mzinho had been playing like it was 2019, when he was 12, Liquid might have stood a chance in the semi-final. On one hand, they did get a map. On the other, they were soundly beaten by The MongolZ – and mzinho especially – on the other two.
Techno failed to really show up in either game, but it didn’t stop The MongolZ from soaring into the final. That’s a good sign.
If he shows up in the final against FURIA… watch out.
Who said the RMRs were dead?
Instead of one Major qualifier, we’ve now got LANs popping up wherever a few thousand dollars are up for grabs. Forget Bitcoin, VRS points are the real currency.
One of these just wrapped in Budapest, with StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 marking the return of the TO to the circuit. If you opted for FISSURE Playground 2 for your weekly CS dose, we don’t blame you. But StarLadder turned out to be surprisingly fun to watch. That is, if you don’t mind the endless calculations to figure out who’s making the Major and who’s getting left behind.
In a fairly underwhelming lineup - NAVI, NIP, B8, OG, 9INE, PARIVISION, Gentle Mates, and Passion UA - you can probably guess who took home the trophy.
NAVI dropped just a single map the entire event, in their opening series against 9INE. After that, it was smooth sailing, with the squad proving they’re still well above this level of competition.
NIP also showed up in respectable form, proving once again that their LAN buff is real - you just don’t go from losing to Venom one week to sweeping OG, PARIVISION, and B8 the next.
Unfortunately for them, despite strong performances from their young talents, NAVI proved a step too deep for Snappi’s playbook, which still largely consists of ‘If it worked once, do it again. And again. And again. And again’.
You get the idea.
Now for the honorable (and dishonorable) mentions.
Despite losing their opening round to Jame and the boys, B8 went on a deep lower-bracket run, eliminating OG, Passion UA, and Gentle Mates before falling to NIP in the consolidation final.
On the dishonorable side, OG - who had looked strong in recent online showings since adding arrozdoce - completely crumbled on LAN. They won a single map across their two series against NIP and B8. Not a good look for a team that needs to make the most out of every opportunity to rack up points.
Speaking of the almighty points, B8’s lower-bracket run vaulted them 10 spots in the rankings, all the way up to #16 in Europe and right in Stage 1 contention, reviving their dreams of making it to Budapest in November.
NIP’s grand-final appearance also earned them a sizeable chunk, boosting the team 8 spots to #13 in EU, comfortably inside the top 16 EU teams set to receive an invite.
Now it’s just a matter of keeping an eye on the dozens of LANs happening simultaneously around the world, as we inch closer to the dreaded October 6th invite date*. Isn’t it exciting?*
Admittedly, yes, but it’s still not as good as RMRS.
Think you’ve got a funnier meme than this one?
We expect you probably do, and that’s why we need you to join the TLDR discord and get the meme-drop channel firing, because we’re all busy adults writing newsletters, recording podcasts and watching Counter-Strike in our underwear.
Get the hell in. What are you waiting for?
NiKo to win a Major?
But in the meantime, well done to Taken for being the first Meme of the Week provider. Guess you’re not just a CS savant.
What. A. Final. Seriously, we love both of these teams, and we knew it would be a banger as soon as the match was set, but we just witnessed five excellent maps of Counter-Strike, and that’s a great way to end a weekend.
Kicking it off on Mirage, we really expected The MongolZ would begin the series with a win. Their Mirage is exceptional, and their T side showed why. 910 was frying to give the Mongolians a strong 8-4 lead.
But this isn’t the FURIA that limped to a win against Imperial Valkyries and bubble. No, this is a FURIA powered by YEKINDAR and molodoy. And that FURIA doesn’t f-ck about. Another 8-4 half ensued, and FURIA just kept going in OT, closing out the map 16-13.
Sent to Inferno, the map began with another T-side 8-4 lead, this time coming from FURIA as molodoy picked up a 2.28 rating in the opening half. However, map two was The MongolZ’ time to pull off the comeback, and a ruthless 2.68 rated T side from Senzu blitzed the FURIA defence and pulled The MongolZ back into the series.
Game on.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, this was a series defined by comebacks. Having dusted themselves off in the break, FURIA were strong out the gates on Nuke.
12-3 up and already thinking about how they would lift the trophy after Overpass, the occasion clearly got them, and they just couldn’t make anything work on their T side as The MongolZ pulled it back to 12-12…
… just to get wiped in OT as FURIA remembered how to win a T round. 16-12. Cheers.
But it didn’t faze the Mongolians, whose stage fright narrative is now well and truly dead. Mzinho, 910, and Techno all gave FURIA a horrible time on the newest map in the pool, and thankfully, sent us to map five off the back of a 13-9 win.
Sadly, though, map five was the most comfortable map of the series. And that’s not to say it was bad, we had a hell of a time watching FURIA beat back their recent stage demons and finally claim their tier one crown.
A YEKINDAR topfrag with 19 kills, the Latvian completed his redemption arc with aplomb. He was so strong that FURIA didn’t even need MVP-winner molodoy, who was relatively quiet with just 13 kills.
A first, true tier one trophy for FURIA - no, Elisa Masters Espoo doesn’t count - it really couldn’t come at a better time for the Brazilian team.
The Major is fast approaching, and FURIA are now right there with G2 as the dark horses for the event.
The organisation may have waited almost eight years for their first trophy since breaking through to tier one, but we have a feeling that the wait for the next one won’t be anywhere near as long.
Oh, and shout out to FalleN’s dog. We hope he gets plenty of treats tonight.
