Sources: FURIA have not been selected as a VCT Americas partner team for the 2027-2028 cycle

FURIA are set to lose their partnership status in VCT Americas for the next two years, with sources telling Sheep Esports that the Brazilian organization has not been selected as a partner team for the 2027-2028 cycle. FURIA have been part of the league since 2023, and in 2026 won their first Kickoff title with a lineup that included foreign players for the first time.

Sources indicate that Riot looked at fan engagement, recent performance, regional results, and long-term commitment, among other factors. FURIA’s large following and its Kickoff title appear not to have been enough, after a cycle in which it frequently finished near the bottom of the standings.

FURIA began 2026 with an entirely new roster built around Arthur “artziN” Araujo, Canadian Daniel “eeiu” Vucenovic and American Michael “nerve” Yerrow. The start was an immediate success. After four consecutive victories, including one over G2 Esports, FURIA beat MIBR in a Brazilian derby for the title and earned the region’s top seed for Masters Santiago.

The momentum, however, ended quickly. At Masters Santiago, FURIA recovered from a rough first map against BBL Esports to level the series 1-1, but lost the decider and left the event. In Stage 1, the team finished second in the Omega Group, but NRG swept it 2-0 in the playoffs and the Masters London dream was over. FURIA also missed the Esports World Cup.

Before Stage 2, the organization released nerve and Torogul “alym” Baidyldaev, bringing in Fabian “Shyy” Usnayo and Luis “basic” Henrique. The changes did not work right away. After losing their first series, FURIA also parted ways with eeiu and signed Corbin “C0M” Lee as Initiator in his place, but the team still finished the group stage 0-5, extending a losing streak to nine series.

The Play-In gave FURIA a second chance. The Brazilians beat 2GAME Esports and G2 Esports to reach the playoffs, where they lost to LOUD in the upper bracket and then fell 2-1 to G2 in the lower bracket, ending their season.

The 2026 collapse was not new for the organization. FURIA have finished a group stage without a single win four times in the partnered league, in Stage 1 2024, Stage 1 2025, Stage 2 2025 and Stage 2 2026. In 2025, it also went through the worst losing streak in the history of VCT Americas at the time. The decision to go international for 2026 came after that season, since the organization had fielded only local players since entering VALORANT.

The early years were more promising. FURIA reached Champions in 2021 and 2022, finishing in the top 16 both times. After joining the partnered league in 2023, it finished fifth in the Americas League with four wins and five losses, beating LEVIATÁN in the playoffs before losses to LOUD and NRG, and was eliminated from the Last Chance Qualifier by KRÜ Esports.

The new cycle would have been a particular appeal for FURIA. Two of the region’s events will be held in Brazil, Kickoff in São Paulo (January 14 to February 7) and the second Cup in Rio de Janeiro (August 5 to 29). As a partnered team, FURIA would have got a direct spot at Kickoff, a base payment and revenue from its in-game capsules, and can skip the opening rounds of the Open Qualifiers for the Cups. The first of them will take place in Mexico City from April 29 to May 23. Each region will have eight partnered teams instead of ten.

Another rebuild appears likely. GianFranco "koalanoob" Potestio and C0M have reportedly been allowed to explore their options ahead of 2027, which would leave artziN, Shyy and basic as the core of the roster.