The semifinals at FISSURE Playground 2 wrapped up today, and they gave us a mix of the expected and the surprising. MongolZ handled Liquid and looked like the favorites they’ve been since day one, even if they did drop a map along the way. On the other side, FURIA shocked just about everyone by knocking out Falcons, the team most people had pegged to win it all.

Here’s what went down.

The MongolZ vs Liquid – Favorites Handle Business

On paper, The MongolZ were the favorite here, and they played like it-at least on their maps.

Dust2 was a mauling: 13-3, with bLitz tearing through the opener and MongolZ swarming every duel. Liquid then punched back on Mirage, 13-5, flipping the pace and actually making MongolZ look human for a map. The series settled on Ancient, where MongolZ reset the tone with a 9-3 half and never really let go; mzinho even dropped a pistol-round ace for good measure, and his 1.54 series rating told the story of who had the hot hand. NAF even pulled off a cheeky smoke defuse to keep Liquid in it, but MongolZ never really let the series slip.

Final stat: 2-1 MongolZ (Dust2 13-3, Mirage 5-13, Ancient 13-5).

Did the matchup meet the vibe? More or less. The surprise wasn’t MongolZ winning – it was Liquid landing such a heavy counterpunch on Mirage before getting boxed in on the decider. MongolZ advance looking every bit like a title threat.

FURIA vs Falcons – Unc FalleN Still Got it

Falcons came into Belgrade as the big favorite, and for long stretches you could see why. But FURIA had the better nerves when it mattered, and that turned a near-coinflip series into a clean(ish) 2-0.

Train went to overtime after Falcons let a 5v3 map-point slip through their fingers – FalleN’s MP9 heroics yanked it back-and yuurih absolutely farmed, dropping 34-18 with a 1.63 rating on the opener. Nuke was tighter, 13-11, with YEKINDAR and KSCERATO cracking sites while a late push from NiKo and m0NESY came a little too late.

It ends 16-12 Train, 13-11 Nuke, and FURIA are into their first offline grand final in nearly two years. Upset? Yep. A deserved one? Also yep.

So… Finals Tomorrow

The semifinals at FISSURE Playground 2 gave us two very different kinds of drama. One series went pretty much the way most expected, with MongolZ powering through Liquid despite a small scare. The other flipped the script entirely, as FURIA toppled the tournament favorite Falcons to book their first big-stage final in ages.

And now we’ve got a grand final set that nobody should want to miss.