Reports surfaced on May 29 claiming the Brazilian ‘Godfather of Counter-Strike‘ Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo is on the list of names potentially taking the reigns of FURIA’s CS:GO roster in the latter part of this year.
It seems that Andrei “arT” Piovezan would be the intended target of this transfer, as FalleN’s AWP and IGLing expertise would conflict with the current leader’s skill set. While there’s no explicit transfer date, the change would likely occur during the “player break”, according to reports by Gamesarena.gg.
Related: Live Counter-Strike 2023 roster tracker | CS:GO signings, rumors ahead of CS2 release
Despite CS2’s planned “Summer 2023” release arriving around the same period, we might see FalleN become FURIA’s front-man before the hyped sequels’ unveiling.
While FURIA has remained near the top domestically, they’ve been struggling to keep their head above water in the tier-one competitive scene for months, and even if this FalleN deal falls through, it looks like a course correction in leadership style is the team’s main objective.
While this is exciting news for some Brazilian fans, last year FalleN himself shared his desire to retire from CS:GO in 2023. The Brazilian veteran has been a part of some of the best South American rosters in history, but he’s nowhere near his peak 2016 form which saw him lead Luminosity and SK to back-to-back Major wins.
However, his recent months have shown an uptick in performance. While the roster is primarily playing against lower-tiered Brazilian squads, there’s a handful of matches where Imperial and FalleN have gone toe-to-toe with the best that NA has to offer.
Imperial placed first in the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2023 Americas, taking the top spot over teams like FURIA, paiN, and Team Liquid. FalleN also proved he’s still got gas in the tank, earning a 1.18 HLTV rating across the seven maps played in the event.
Related: CS:GO fans say FURIA must part ways with one player after latest disappointing loss
Whether FalleN can keep up this run of form is up for debate, especially given his announcement leaning towards retirement. Fans and analysts alike have been pointing the finger at arT’s IGLing for quite some time, and it seems FURIA believes FalleN could be the solution.
