Shock exits in the Phygital Shooter semifinals at GOTF 2026
It was semifinals day in the Phygital Shooter CS2 presented by Yandex Go competition at the Beeline Arena in Astana – and it lived up to its billing. Now that all the matches were survive-or-die, the teams were determined not to leave anything in their lockers.
Could Team KZ overcome current Phygital Shooter champions, NOVAQ ? Would the world’s number two CS2 team, Minsk House , overcome legendary Liga Pro Team ? We were going to find out.
Team KZ 2-1 NOVAQ
This match-up saw the reigning champions up against one of the strongest teams in the competition so far. Played on Dust2, it was a close battle with the lead switching several times. However, by the halfway point, Team KZ were up 8:4 and extended it to 12:4 before NOVAQ snatched a point back. By then, nothing was going to stop Team KZ who finished off the map with a 13:4 win.
“We’ve achieved our minimum objective by reaching the final. We approached this match with full focus and without underestimating our opponents. We’re very happy with the result, but our attention is already on tomorrow’s final, and we’re preparing for it.” – Ruslan Borzhikov , Team KZ
Minsk House 0-2 Liga Pro Team
Minsk House needed to deliver a strong win on their chosen map Nuke, to counter the expected domination of Liga Pro Team in the laser tag stage. But Liga Pro Team started strong, racing to a 6:0 lead. Heading into the halfway point, they had strengthened their position to 9:3 and from there were invincible – taking the map 13:4.
"This was probably the toughest opponent in the entire tournament for us. Tomorrow will be tough, especially in the digital rounds, but I think we can handle it. We’ll just make sure we can play with focused minds tomorrow.” – Andrei Maliarov , Liga Pro Team.
Final day looms
With the reigning champions being knocked out, this year’s title will be taken by either Team KZ or Liga Pro Team. Tomorrow’s match is expected to be a blockbuster battle, with both teams having dominated the competition to date.
Before that, NOVAQ and Minsk House will do battle for third place, where the displaced champions will be aiming to salvage some glory.
Where and when to watch
You can also see the semifinals of MOBA Mobile presented by Freedom and Phygital Football presented by Samruk-Kazyna , alongside the Phygital Fighting presented by Kazzinc competition.
You can also see the semifinals of MOBA Mobile presented by Freedom and Phygital Football presented by Samruk-Kazyna , alongside the Phygital Fighting presented by Kazzinc competition.
Phygital+ is where subscribers can enjoy live coverage of every discipline, with full event or day-pass access, video-on-demand replays, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content throughout the tournament.
Alongside Phygital+ , the Games of the Future 2026 is being broadcast by leading media partners across the globe, including Fox Sports Mexico (Mexico), StarTimes (Africa), BIGG TV (France/Worldwide), ESR TV (USA/Worldwide), Play TV (Brazil), Unbeaten (Australia), and QazSport (Kazakhstan), ensuring fans around the world can follow the action as it unfolds.
