FUT are playing FURIA as we speak and it is a close one so I wouldn't say they are a completely bad team.
But I agree with you there, Aurora does need a restructuring on their team either on the squad themselves or in the coaching. As other teams have done in the past when it comes to having a reset happen to bring them back losing game after game they way they have been doing the past year.

Unfortunately, FUT fell short, but at least they made FURIA work for that second-round win and will be facing Falcons for one of the early playoff spots in round three.

As for Aurora, I still think they're doing okay, because back in IEM Krakow, they already showed they can beat teams like Falcons and Mouz. It's just that they lack consistency and have the lowest lows whenever they're not feeling it.

Good to know they're also doing well in Valorant and Chess, I guess they're ready for the upcoming EWC and stop Falcons from going for a three-peat.

Maybe this is why some others such as Team Secret just decided to leave the dota2 scene with such a organization as Team Liquid dominating in all types of Esports. They simply just can not compete with the likes of them any longer.

As for the Cluj-Napoca, Team Vitality just beat MOUZ on their own map pick to take that game clean.
Just switched over to see how PaiN gaming are doing against the G2 Esports squad who are leading their map 9-8. This one looks alot more competative than the Vitality match.

Pain lost and sank even further, and now they're fighting against G2. I hope they win; I haven't seen Pain achieve such significant positions in a long time. I also hope we have two Brazilians in the championship; that would be good for me to bet on.

It was a rough day for the Brazilian teams yesterday. That elimination loss on paiN was expected since G2 always delivers when they're up against weaker teams.

In the FURIA series, their side only showed up for the first map, then forgot there were still one or two more maps left to play.

Or maybe it's their tactic to avoid the 3-0 curse because we know that teams can sometimes become too confident as they head into the playoffs.  

I'm trying to believe this whole "3-0 curse" thing. But really, they only played one map and then just tried to act like that was what they wanted. Even Molodoy, who was a constant presence, declined in the following maps. I hope this breaks any trust and that they play as honestly as possible.

As you mentioned about FURIA, they qualified for the PGL Cluj-Napoca playoffs after beating PARIVISION 2-1.

The other Brazilian team, paiN Gaming, ended up being eliminated in last place after three losses. Besides FURIA, Team Vitality, Team Falcons, MOUZ, and The MongolZ also advanced.

I'd like to know your opinion: do you think Vitality will take the title, or do you think another team could surprise and win the trophy? I mention Vitality because they are the favorites and have been winning everything from what I've seen.

So it seems that lorenof's standing in with the Aurora Gaming for its tournaments is about to end. But before that, he's taken by Team Falcons as stand in for malr1ne due to another visa issue for the upcoming PGL Wallachia S7. I hope that he finds an actual team that he's part of the roster soon. Because in Aurora Gaming, the management secured Mikoto with a 5-year visa and that means no more visa issue for him for the upcoming tournaments with the team.

In the match between the teams tied at 2-2 in Cluj Napoca, I don't think there were any surprises.
Our representative Aurora defeated Astralis 2-0, securing their place in the quarter-finals. Astralis didn't perform particularly well on their chosen map, Overpass. Aurora, however, staged a remarkable comeback on their chosen map, Dust2, winning the match 2-0. Woxic was one of the standout players of the day and played a major role in securing this victory for his team.
Our other representative, FUT, narrowly lost to Parivision. FUT lost in overtime on the Dust2 map; had they won that map, they might have also secured a spot in the quarter-finals, but it wasn't to be. lauNX's solo performance wasn't enough. Parivision was the better team overall.

Astralis has lost its former influence, and I don't think it will regain it. I don't believe the Astralis of 5-6 years ago will return. Back then, the Astralis roster was truly legendary, and everyone's individual talent had propelled them to fame, but just as all good things come to an end, so too has Astralis. Next up is Vitality, and their time will come too. I don't think the problem with Astralis is player-related; it's entirely tactical. Currently, I believe all the players on Astralis are performing at a sufficient level individually.