FalleN: "If any team doesn't take us seriously, they'll be in trouble"

Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo, the captain of FURIA, spoke about the mindset with which he and his teammates arrived in Cologne for one of the year's biggest Counter-Strike tournaments, IEM Cologne 2024. In an interview with HLTV, the Brazilian esports player emphasised that the team aims not only to reach the playoffs, but also to advance to the semi-finals.

"We are focused on making it to the playoffs. Our philosophy now is to take one step forward at a time if possible. That's why we must reach the semi-finals, as we made it to the quarter-finals at our last tournament. And once the tournament reaches the playoff stage, anything can happen.

I’ve won this tournament several times. And given the current level of CS, even the best teams, the favourites, can lose any match. The competition is extremely tough. The teams striving to reach the top are just as strong as those already there. So it will be challenging, but we’ll try to make it to the semi-finals. That’s our dream. And if we can win the entire tournament, why not? We’ll try to go as far as we can."

FalleN also reflected on what their opponents might think of FURIA and the status the team holds as they enter the championship. Toledo again highlighted the high level of competition in the CS2 pro scene.

"I don’t know what other teams think of us. I believe that after recent changes, some perceptions of our team have probably shifted. FURIA has always played in its own style, always had this eccentric way of playing that was difficult to deal with in many cases. I’ve played against this team many times myself and suffered a lot due to arT's ideas, the constant aggression, and the way they did everything. But now FURIA has a new roster, a new captain, and I think this perception of FURIA is gradually changing. I don’t know what they think of us. We’ll just go out, do our best, and try to progress day by day.

I believe that if any team doesn’t take us seriously, they’ll have problems. We’re playing good CS, we have ideas, and I’m sure that at the current level of CS, no one can be underestimated. The best teams need to carefully analyse what others are doing and take every match seriously because the level of play is very balanced."

FURIA began their IEM Cologne 2024 campaign in Cologne with a 2-1 victory over Imperial. To advance to the group stage, the team will need to defeat Liquid today.