“If he’s not killing, I don’t know what we’re gonna do” – YEKINDAR on FURIA’s chances if molodoy isn’t firing

Bruno Sobieraj Published June 18, 2026

With how the IEM Cologne Major 2026 playoff bracket has shaped up, FURIA are one of the favorites to make it all the way to the Grand Final.

They won’t be able to do so, unless Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis is firing on all cylinders, like he was in the group stage. We got to speak with the Latvian rifler before their quarter-final game against 9z.

Congrats YEKINDAR on making it to the playoffs. You went 3-0 in the group stage. What would you say about your performance so far as a team?

YEKINDAR: I think it’s been great. I feel like the thing for our group stage was about momentum and rhythm. I feel like the maps we started good, we closed them out pretty quickly. The only concerning loss was against MOUZ on Inferno, but I specifically came out with a wrong game plan and whatever.

It’s interesting because the bootcamp before this tournament was not necessarily that good for us in terms of results and everything, but how people clicked from the first second of the game, of the first game in the groups, this is something truly amazing.

Happy to be in [the] playoffs, but job is not finished.

In Kraków you got to the final. So, would you say the team steps up for the biggest events?

I think [the] team steps up for officials. I feel like we’re a team that’s in practice, we can be a little bit lazy. We can be a little bit not serious, but during officials this just changes.

Do you think as a team you came in a bit underrated into the major by the community and by maybe other teams as well?

At some point I didn’t even notice that we were like number 12 or number 13 in the VRS. You can probably ask any top five team and they’re [going to] say that it’s hard to play against us.

We were close to beating Vitality in Rio. Both maps we lost were close. We were close to beating Falcons in Astana and in Rio. So, this is something, in our opinions, I don’t know how underrated, we don’t really read social media or use social media, but in our opinions we’re a top five team. That’s just how it is.

Your last playoff game was the against Falcons in Astana. What did you take away from that game?

It was about just closing situations. There were many situations where we could have closed out the games, but this is something we focused on bootcamp and I feel like this tournament at least we didn’t see these situations happen anymore, but of course we need to see for future.

YEKINDAR was back to his best in Stage 3 of the IEM Cologne Major. Image credit: Luc Bouchon | © BLAST

How do you feel about your map pool coming into the playoffs with a best-of-five in the grand final potentially?

We like best-of-fives. I feel like all six maps, even seven. If we meet a team that’s not playing Ancient as well, we’re ready to play Ancient. We’re comfortable in any map and honestly just waiting.

We want to see somebody picking Anubis against us as well because we haven’t played that map since February and it’s in the map pool or whatever. We’re comfortable, you know. I wouldn’t say that we’re in our best shape or whatever, but it’s more about the momentum. Just keeping up the momentum and everything.

So, do you think if Cache came into the map pool after the Major you’d still try to play a seven-map pool?

Well, it depends. I don’t know how good on Cache we are. I played Cache in 2018, I think, last time, and FalleN hates Cache, for example, so it’s going to be interesting. We would definitely try it, but it’s one of those things where you have to try it to understand how good you’re going to be on that map to decide on what’s the next step for me.

Your time at FURIA has been very successful. When you left Liquid for this team, did you consider the success would come as fast as it did?

No, of course not. Of course not. After a very grim period, almost depression and everything, I had a very bad, bad period and the break, the four-month break without official matches, that’s what helped me and just refreshed my body.

Maybe I was just burned out and whatever, I don’t know, or maybe it was the surroundings or the people. You never really know. I’m very thankful for FURIA to kind of give me this opportunity and very grateful for playing with these kind of players.

I also wanted to ask about your sitting position when playing. Do you think some players could benefit from sitting closer to the monitor?

Yeah, I don’t know. I think every person in the world has a sitting position where they gain the most focus in. So, it’s like I can sit differently with the monitor distance. This is something that I just prefer, like being a little bit closer and whatever, but it’s more about how your body is sitting and you can definitely.

Throughout the years, my body feels the most focused in this sitting position, for example. So this is something that helps me and I know many people make fun of it.

Many people think it’s interesting or whatever. So that’s something cool and maybe part of my image right now, but I wouldn’t suggest anybody to sit like that, that’s if you ask me.

Which one of your teammates you wouldn’t want to become FURIA’s IGL once FalleN retires?

I wouldn’t want molodoy to become IGL. This guy needs to be focusing on killing, bro. That’s just how it is. If he’s not killing, I don’t know what we’re going to do.

Read also: “Yes, obviously” – Aurora Wicadia on if he’s happy with the IEM Cologne Major 2026 playoff bracket

Featured image credit: © PGL