Cloud9 have become the first team eliminated from the
2026 World Championship. The North American side fell 3-1 to
FURIA in the Play-Ins Lower Bracket on Friday, October 16, ending their tournament after only two series. Cloud9 took Game 1, but the Brazilians responded by winning the next three games to close out the series.
FURIA stay alive and will take on
MVK Esports in the Lower Bracket Final on Saturday, October 17, in a rematch of the series that opened their Worlds campaign. The winner will face
Karmine Corp on Sunday, October 18, for the lone ticket to the Swiss Stage.
The elimination comes on the same day Karmine Corp beat MVK 3-0 in the Upper Bracket Final. That sweep dropped the Vietnamese team into the Lower Bracket, where they will meet FURIA, while the French team wait for the winner on Sunday.
For Cloud9, the defeat is another painful chapter in a rivalry that has leaned heavily toward the Brazilians. It marks the fourth consecutive series Cloud9 have lost to FURIA since 2025. The two teams had already met at the
inaugural America’s Cup, where FURIA went 8-0 against North American teams, including five wins over Cloud9, and claimed the title by beating them.
Heading into Worlds, C9 needed to exorcise those demons on the biggest stage of the year. Winning Game 1 gave them an opening to do so, but FURIA took control from there and the result stayed the same.
With the loss, Cloud9 officially finish in 19th place, the last spot among the 19 teams at the tournament. As a result, the North American organization departs Los Angeles with $30,000 from the prize pool, a modest return for a team that arrived at Worlds hoping to extend the LCS’s recent run in the knockout stages.
Two rough openings
Both teams arrived in the Lower Bracket after difficult starts. Cloud9, the LCS third seed, lost 3-2 to Karmine Corp on Day 1 after Edward "
" Ra and Robert "
" Huang had them in a strong position early in the series, before Caliste "
" Henry-Hennebert and Alan "
" Cwalina led KC’s comeback in Games 4 and 5.
FURIA, the CBLoL second seed, were swept 3-0 by MVK in a series where jungler Lương "
" Hải Longattracted the spotlight. The Brazilian side also arrived with just five days between their previous tournament and Worlds.
FURIA now get a second shot at MVK, and this time the loser will be eliminated. After the Day 1 sweep, MVK mid laner Võ "
" Lê said the main weakness he saw in FURIA was their decision-making once they lose an advantage, a flaw the Brazilians will need to fix quickly.
The Vietnamese side, full of rookies and coached by Lê "
SofM" Quang, will try to recover from their loss to KC and repeat the aggressive style that carried them in the first meeting. FURIA, meanwhile, still have the proven quality of star jungler Pedro “
” Seixas to lean on.
Whoever wins on Saturday will have little time to celebrate. Karmine Corp, who have won both of their series in the Play-Ins so far, will be waiting on Sunday, October 18, with a place in the Swiss Stage at stake.
