FURIA are sitting pretty at 2-0 in Stage 3 of the IEM Cologne Major 2026, and they have a 21-year-old sniper from Kazakhstan to thank for it. Danil “molodoy” Golubenko, who joined the Brazilian organization just over a year ago, has been the difference-maker in FURIA’s dominant opening to the tournament’s most critical phase.
The IEM Cologne Major, running from June 2 through June 21 with a $1.25 million prize pool, is the kind of event where careers are made.
A Kazakh AWPer on a Brazilian squad walks into Cologne
Molodoy signed with FURIA on April 11, 2025, replacing Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes in the AWPer role. A young Kazakh player slotting into a historically Brazilian-core roster isn’t exactly a conventional roster decision.
Stage 3 of the IEM Cologne Major uses a Swiss-system format, meaning teams play best-of-three matches and need to accumulate wins to advance. Only the top eight teams make it through to the playoffs. Starting 2-0 puts FURIA in a commanding position. They now need just one more series win to lock in a playoff spot, while a loss would still leave them with multiple chances to qualify.
