Spirit sweep FURIA to reach BLAST Porto semis

Spirit have advanced directly to the BLAST Open Porto 2026 semifinals after defeating FURIA 2-0 in the Group A upper-bracket final.

The world No. 1 side won Ancient 13-10 before dominating Cache 13-5, completing the entire group stage without dropping a single map. Spirit will now skip the quarterfinals and return on September 5 with a place in the Grand Final at stake.

Spirit extend unbeaten Ancient streak

Ancient once again proved to be a major strength for Spirit.

The team entered the series having won 12 consecutive official matches on the map since March, and FURIA were unable to end that streak.

donk immediately set the pace with 17 kills in the opening half. Spirit built enough of an advantage to control the map despite a late FURIA recovery, eventually closing Ancient 13-10.

Spirit won Ancient 13-10
donk recorded 17 kills in the first half
Spirit extended their Ancient winning streak to 13 matches
FURIA’s late comeback was not enough to force overtime

The result was particularly notable because Ancient had previously spent a long period as one of FURIA’s permanent bans.

Spirit have now won 13 consecutive official matches on Ancient, making the map one of the strongest pieces of their current pool.

Cache becomes even more one-sided

If Ancient offered FURIA some hope, Cache removed it quickly.

Spirit’s T side established an 8-2 advantage, with tN1R becoming the central figure. One of the crucial early rounds came through a Tec-9 1v2 clutch that helped Spirit maintain momentum and break FURIA’s economy.

FURIA never recovered.

Spirit continued to control the game after changing sides and closed Cache 13-5, finishing the series in only two maps.

Map	Spirit	FURIA
Ancient	13	10
Cache	13	5
Series	2	0

tN1R ended Cache with 97 ADR and delivered another strong performance at an important moment for Spirit.

sh1ro leads the series statistics

Interestingly, donk was not Spirit’s highest-rated player across the complete series.

sh1ro finished at the top with 36 kills, 20 deaths, 88.5 ADR and a 1.33 HLTV Rating 3.0. donk followed closely with 39 kills and a 1.31 rating, while tN1R posted 1.28.

That gave Spirit three players above a 1.25 rating.

sh1ro: 36-20, 1.33 rating
donk: 39-26, 1.31 rating
tN1R: 31-20, 1.28 rating
Spirit team rating: 1.16

The balanced production made the matchup extremely difficult for FURIA. Even when one Spirit star was contained, another was able to take over key rounds.

donk dominates the entire group stage

The wider group-stage numbers remain even more impressive for donk.

Across six maps at BLAST Open Porto, the 19-year-old finished with a 1.62 overall rating. His T-side performance was particularly extreme, reaching a 1.86 rating across the group stage.

That level of offensive impact has been one of the main reasons Spirit have progressed without conceding a single map.

Their route has included straight-map victories over G2 and FURIA, with the team arriving in Portugal immediately after winning the Esports World Cup.

The transition between tournaments has therefore produced almost no visible drop in form.

FURIA struggle to find individual impact

FURIA’s statistics tell a very different story.

YEKINDAR was their only player to finish the series above a 1.00 rating, posting 1.05. yuurih ended at 0.89, FalleN at 0.86 and molodoy at 0.85.

KSCERATO had the most difficult series, recording 18 kills, 33 deaths and a 0.71 rating.

That was a significant contrast with his previous performance against M80, where KSCERATO had produced a 1.86 series rating while helping FURIA secure their playoff place.

YEKINDAR was FURIA’s only player above 1.00
KSCERATO finished at 0.71
FURIA managed only five rounds on Cache
They now enter the quarterfinal stage

FURIA are not eliminated, but their route has become longer.

Spirit earn four days of preparation

Winning the Group A upper-bracket final gives Spirit a valuable playoff advantage.

Rather than entering the quarterfinals on September 4, they advance directly to the semifinals on September 5. That gives the team four days away from official matches to prepare for the knockout stage.

FURIA, meanwhile, will have to begin their arena run in the quarterfinals.

The BLAST Open Porto Grand Final is scheduled for September 6 and will be played as a best-of-five.

Assessment

Spirit’s group stage could hardly have been stronger.

They qualified for the playoffs without dropping a map, defeated another top-three team in FURIA and continued to show exceptional depth across their roster. donk remains their defining star, but the FURIA series demonstrated that Spirit do not depend entirely on him producing the highest rating.

sh1ro and tN1R were equally capable of deciding rounds.

The Ancient streak is another major strategic advantage. Thirteen consecutive victories on a single map gives opponents a difficult veto problem before a series even begins.

For FURIA, the defeat is not disastrous because their playoff place was already secured. However, the difference in individual output on Cache shows how difficult Spirit are to challenge when several players reach strong form at the same time.

Spirit now enter the Porto semifinals as one of the clearest favorites for the title.