FUT are the first team into PGL Masters Bucharest playoffs after taking down Vitality 2-1.
It's a brilliant result for the team on debut with Álvaro "SunPayus" García, who ended the series on a 1.33 rating in a throwback to some of his past matador-like performances against Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut and Vitality.
The Spanish sniper, benched by G2 in June, has a 1.35 rating for the event after 7 maps and has clearly made the most of his time away from the professional scene.
"Everything is clicking", SunPayus told the desk post-game. "I told the coach, I don't want to change what you guys do, I just want to adapt. Everyone in this team treats me as a star player, they're dropping me a Deagle on ecos, they're saving money for my AWP.
"It feels so good. I feel so confident. I have so much fun with them, they listen in reviews, and are learning super fast."
Mirage began the series, and despite Vitality stand-in Justinas "jL" Lekavicius grenading himself, the world number one showed their class down the stretch and took the map.
On Vitality's pick of Dust2, though, the game started to flip. The crucial round was a 2v4 won by Aulon "Krabeni" Fazlija and SunPayus, but the Spaniard was excellent throughout and has now won six clutches in this group stage.
On Anubis, Vitality looked like they were in the driving seat after an 8-4 CT side, but that was when FUT came alive.
Yasin "xfl0ud" Koç was particularly stellar, posting two four-kill holds on the B bombsite, as Vitality felt the absence of Dan "apEX" Madesclaire in their inability to break through.
Krabeni's mid-round calling was praised by SunPayus post-game, and it's clear why; FUT were simply a step ahead, all the way through, and now have playoffs to look forward to.
Astralis' nervous wait goes on
With this result, FUT and Astralis remain in a situation where both teams might have Nikita "cmtry" Samolotov on their invited roster to PGL Major Singapore.
Under Major rules, the higher-ranked team would be the only one allowed to attend Singapore, which is likely to be FUT after they went 3-0 in this group stage.
To avoid this, FUT must play five games with SunPayus, something that can only happen now if they win their quarter-final.
Astralis would then need Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen or Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard to play at Stake Ranked instead of cmtry to prevent the Ukrainian entering their lineup.
The five-game rule is also in play for Vitality; jL will now be the player on their invited roster, since Vitality must play at least five games at this event, which should mean stickers for the Lithuanian and none for apEX.
FUT
Álvaro 'SunPayus' García
Yasin 'xfl0ud' Koç
Dmytro 'dem0n' Myroshnychenko
Aulon 'Krabeni' Fazlija
Džiugas 'dziugss' Steponavičius
András 'coolio' Fercsák
Jakob 'jabbi' NygaardPast 3 months
Justinas 'jL' LekaviciusPast 3 months
G2
Nemanja 'huNter-' Kovač
Guy 'NertZ' Iluz
Artem 'r1nkle' Moroz
Nikita 'HeavyGod' Martynenko
Matúš 'MATYS' Šimko
Eetu 'sAw' Saha
Vitality
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire
Robin 'ropz' Kool
Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut
Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan
William 'mezii' Merriman
Rémy 'XTQZZZ' Quoniam
Rasmus 'HooXi' NielsenPast 3 months
Nikita 'cmtry' SamolotovPast 3 months
Yasin 'xfl0ud' KoçPast 3 months
Mathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautPast 3 months
Astralis
Love 'phzy' Smidebrant
Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek
Victor 'Staehr' Staehr
Gytis 'ryu' Glušauskas
Nikita 'cmtry' Samolotov
Filip 'NEO' Kubski
Dan 'apEX' MadesclairePast 3 months
Aulon 'Krabeni' FazlijaPast 3 months
Álvaro 'SunPayus' GarcíaPast 3 months