Brazil’s most decorated Counter-Strike IGL FalleN has stepped down as FURIA’s shotcaller today in favor of Andrei “arT” Piovezan as the team searches for answers.
FalleN will return to just AWPing in FURIA’s Counter-Strike 2 team without any leadership responsibilities, according to Dust 2 reports today. ArT, who was FURIA’s shotcaller before FalleN arrived in July 2023, will take his place. This dynamic shift comes after a series of poor results for FURIA. The Brazilian org has struggled to keep its head above water against top-tier opponents; a far cry from the dark horse the roster was years ago.
FalleN’s final match as FURIA’s IGL resulted in a quarterfinal loss. The Brazilian squad fell at the hands of eventual tournament winners 9 Pandas at PARI Please 2023. FURIA’s best tournament result before this upset came at the Pinnacle Cup V in August this year, on the eve of CS2’s release. The Brazilian roster also finished runners-up to the international 00NATION squad, managing to push past upcoming teams like Monte at the time.
Now arT’s back in the driver’s seat, we’re likely to see a style shift from the Brazilian roster. ArT’s hyper-aggressive style was filled with unexpected pushes on both CT and T sides. Many argue this style became FURIA’s flavor, though it failed to make a dent in the final year of Counter-Strike Global Offensive as other pro teams found it easily readable as time went on. With the changes to peekers’ advantage in CS2 brought upon by the Source 2 engine, there’s a chance this hyper-aggressive approach could flourish once again though.
Whether FURIA can reclaim its title as the king of Brazilian Counter-Strike is yet to be seen. FURIA’s still kicking in the Elisa Masters Espoo 2023, with a victory over CS2 powerhouses Complexity keeping the team alive. The Brazilian roster’s next bout against MOUZ could well spell disaster for FURIA though, considering the odds.
