Turkish organisation FUT have won their first event since their entrance to Counter-Strike 2 in July of this year.
With strong run in the online cup Exort The Proving Grounds Season 4, they had to overcome teams like Spirit Academy and ENCE in order to claim their first trophy and the $40,000 first place prize that came with it.
FUT Esports are starting to push to compete with the top teams. Image Credit: FUT Esports
FUT claim first gold
FUT only entered CS2 in July, signing a French team that featured names such as Christophe “SIXER” Xia, Audric “JACKZ” Jug, and Kevin “misutaaa” Rabier.
That French team wouldn’t last long with the organisation, though, and they were quickly dropped after a 5th-6th place finish at epic45. Then. the NAVI Junior roster became available for purchase.
The new FUT team, which is one of the most promising teams in tier two Counter-Strike, peaked at #21st in the VRS standings, an impressive feat considering they were unable to participate in big events due to the conflict of interest that existed with NAVI at the time.
Upon arriving at FUT, the team needed to replace their star player, Drin “makazze” Shaqiri, who was promoted to the main team prior to the rest of the squad departing. They first tried with misutaaa, but later turned to Laurentiu “lauNX” Tarlea, with the former Sprout player now looking to get his career back on track with FUT having faltered during spells with BLEED and Falcons.
lauNX has been pivotal for FUT. Image Credit: GRID
The team has impressed since lauNX’s arrival, placing in the top four in a CCT event and now winning Exort The Proving Grounds Season 4.
How did they do it?
Their run began with a Round of 16 clash against Spirit Academy, who they took down with a 2-0 scoreline. They then faced Serbian team Partizan, beating them 2-1, and advanced to the grand final with a 2-0 win over Betera.
The final was the toughest test of them all, with FUT pitted against an experienced ENCE side. Another 2-0 victory after a 13-11 on Dust2 and 13-10 on Mirage, lauNX particularly impressed during the final, topping the scoreboard with a 1.26 rating.
FUT will now look ahead to their two upcoming LAN events with confidence. The first, the Birch Cup 2025, will see them face off against teams such as Liquid and fnatic, whilst the second will see them head to Shanghai, China for the CS Asia Championships 2025, a $1,000,000 event and the team’s first chance at a tier one LAN event since joining the organisation.