FUT faced a tough three-map battle in the Esports World Cup semifinals, defeating FURIA 2-1 to reach a major tournament final for the first time in their history. In a post-match HLTV interview, dziugss looked back on the intense struggle on Ancient, the adjustments after losing on Nuke, and the comeback on Dust2, while also discussing potential opponents in the final and the significance of this journey for the team.
Q: Congratulations on defeating FURIA and advancing to the finals of this Esports World Cup. This is a huge achievement for the team. How does it feel?
dziugss: Feels really good. Never expected to reach the finals of this tournament, so I'm really happy.
Q: Previously, both Aurora and G2 selected Ancient when facing FURIA, and FURIA won both matches. Today, you also picked this map, and the game was very close. Did you anticipate it would be this tough?
dziugss: Yes, we expected it to be tough. We feel their playstyle on this map is different from other teams, but currently we play Ancient better than they do because it was originally their permaban map, and we have more experience on this map.
Q: You had little chance on Nuke, but then bounced back to win on the decisive map Dust2. How was the team's atmosphere after the loss on Nuke? What did you discuss off-screen to regroup and bounce back?
dziugss：Nuke isn't our map, you could say we didn't play well on it. We just said, "We need to regroup—it's a new map, let's just go out there and give it our all."
Q: You showed strong resilience on Dust2, falling behind at one point 4-8 and 7-10, but ultimately won in overtime. As a young team, facing an experienced opponent like FURIA on stage is truly impressive. What was the secret to the comeback?
dziugss: There's no secret. I think it's just about fighting to the very end. We never gave up in this game, and that's why we were able to win it in the end.
Q: You will face either Legacy or Spirit in the finals. Who would you rather face?
dziugss：I'd rather play against Spirit. Our lineup has never faced them before, and I want to experience it. Besides, they're the stronger opponent in the finals. Legacy is an underdog like us, so I'd prefer to face Spirit.
Q：If you encounter Spirit in the finals at BO5, what kind of match do you think it would be?
dziugss: I think it will be a very exciting match. We have our strengths, and they have theirs. I definitely think it will go at least four maps.
Q: I interviewed xfl0ud during the group stage, and he believes this team can reach the top five in the world. Do you also believe FUT can become a stable top-five team globally?
dziugss：Undoubtedly. In the future, we can become a stable top-five team in the world. For example, six months from now, I think we will be very strong and consistently have the ability to compete for the championship.
Q：Did you expect the team to develop such quick chemistry after xfl0ud joined? Or did you think it would take longer for the team to blend?
dziugss: I thought it would take longer. Training was going really well, but at the same time there were some issues. xfl0ud is a new player, and he needed to learn our playstyle, so I didn't expect us to do this well so quickly.
Q: This has already been a remarkable journey; winning the championship would make the achievement even greater than at PGL Bucharest. What would lifting the trophy mean for you personally and for the team?
dziugss: I think the significance will be immense. We want to prove the value of our victory at the PGL Bucharest event. Many people said it was a "watered-down tournament" because no top teams were there. So, winning here means a lot to us. Besides, it's essentially our first time competing in front of a large audience, and we really want to win.
Q: Accor Arena will be enormous. What do you think the team can achieve in front of such a large audience? Especially since you're still so young.
dziugss：We will just do our best. I don't know how everyone feels about this, as we've never actually had a serious discussion about it. For me, the venue is already full today, but I'm not sure what the capacity is.
Q: I think about 4,000 people.
Well, that's already quite good. Of course, around 20,000 people is a completely different level, but we'll still play our own game, play the Counter-Strike we love, and that's that.