Brazilian Counter-Strike has rarely been short on storylines, but the current moment feels especially important. FalleN is nearing the final stretch of his playing career, FURIA are facing major questions about their future, insani remains one of the region’s most valuable talents, and several Brazilian teams are trying to figure out whether they are one roster move away from progress or another rebuild.
In this interview, veteran coach peacemaker spoke about FalleN’s legacy among the greatest AWPers, who could eventually replace him in FURIA, whether insani has outgrown MIBR, Legacy’s rise, the disappointing overall showing from Brazilian teams at the IEM Cologne Major, coldzera’s decline from the top level, and what the future of Brazilian Counter-Strike could look like under the current system.
FalleN announced earlier this year that he will retire after the season. If he retires, where do you personally rank him among the greatest AWPers of all time?
If we talk about all time, including CS 1.6, the list gets a little bit huge. But if we talk about CS:GO and CS2, I definitely have to put him very high, especially considering the impact that he had while also calling. That makes it even more impressive. When he started in 1.6, he was already extremely talented. I would put him as one of the top AWPers back then when he appeared in the scene. Obviously not the best, because in Brazil we had another great example in cogu, who was great as well.
When he switched to CS:GO, especially at the beginning when they won both Majors, FalleN had a very precise style. I would not say it was unique, but it was passive and very smart, kind of like GuardiaN back in the day. GuardiaN was one of the great examples out there.
For me, FalleN is definitely a big contender for top five all time in CS:GO and CS2, especially because he was calling. He has a very precise style, a very smart way of playing. He does not often die by overpeeking or making stupid mistakes, and he is a very reliable AWPer. He is a guy that you can count on. He is also really good with supporting grenades. I do not count being a good AWPer as only being good mechanically. I count all the different aspects. So yes, top five all time.
FURIA will eventually need to replace FalleN. With the system they have right now, who do you think fits? Someone like biguzera, or maybe an international prospect?
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That is a tough one. That is the million-dollar question right now. For FURIA, it is a tricky situation because many people have been saying that YEKINDAR should just take the IGL role and they should get someone really talented like insani, or bring even more firepower to the team. But I think that could quickly backfire. I hate to say this, but I feel like FalleN is almost irreplaceable in the sense that he is a great leader, a great individual for the team, a great caller, and he has experience that nobody else is going to be capable of fully replacing.
For FURIA right now, I think they have to make sure YEKINDAR keeps having as much impact as he has right now. If they lose his impact too, let’s say he becomes the IGL and what happened in Liquid starts happening again in FURIA, where his firepower drops significantly, then suddenly you have more questions. molodoy is great, but often he is also not performing very well as an AWPer. Then we do not know what is going to happen when FalleN retires.
So I think their best bet right now would be to try to get an IGL. I honestly do not feel like there are many great opportunities in the Brazilian scene, but they also have to think about the Brazilian core. That makes it difficult. biguzera seems like an impossible choice because of the buyout and because of what he has been doing in paiN Gaming lately. I do not think he has proved to be good enough to take that role right now. Maybe one or two years ago, but right now what I see from biguzera does not really impress me.
If we are talking about a Brazilian IGL to replace FalleN, they would have to bet on a young talent like lux. He was IGLing in Legacy. Maybe with guidance and a good system he could function. Maybe FalleN takes that guy and guides him, teaches him how to become a good IGL, what he needs to focus on, and gives him some tips. That would be their best bet. Otherwise, they would probably have to find an international IGL and forget about the pure Brazilian core idea. Someone like LNZ from MIBR is interesting. I think he instantly improved that roster and seems to be a young, smart IGL. If I had to go international, I would look at LNZ. If I had to go Brazilian, I would bet on a young upcoming player like lux.
You mentioned insani, who has obviously been very good. It was confirmed that he will be staying with MIBR. Do you think he has outgrown MIBR and should look for an international team after the season?
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I think the main reason why insani decided to stay with MIBR is because apparently his contract runs out in December. He has six months left, and after that he is able to negotiate his own terms the way he wants. He could possibly even get a signing bonus. That is a very comfortable spot to be in six months from now. He does not need to rush much because FURIA will be in the market thinking about what to do at the end of the year. Other teams will be out there as well. insani speaks good English, so I really doubt he stays in MIBR unless they put together a really great roster in the next six months and convince him to stay.
I do not see that happening in a short period of time with the moves they are making right now. I also saw that MIBR are apparently trying to get nqz as an AWPer. In my eyes, he is just as good as kl1m as an AWPer, maybe better. As a player, I think kl1m is good, but as an AWPer, I do not like what I saw from him. I actually prefer what I saw from nqz when he was at his prime level in paiN Gaming.
If insani leaves in the future, it puts MIBR in a really tough spot because they would be losing their best player. It would be very challenging in the Brazilian scene because of the high buyouts and all the contract difficulties. They would most likely have to go international and keep maybe two Brazilians. I do not know if MIBR’s management cares that much about having a Brazilian core. Right now, it feels like they care more about finally building a competitive roster for insani and for their fans, because the last few years have been terrible.
If the state of teams like FaZe and Liquid stays the same by the end of the year, which teams do you think would be a good fit for insani?
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It is a broad question because we do not know what is going to happen by the end of the year. But insani is 22 years old, he has great potential, and he has already shown it. The thing is, when you look from the outside, you can clearly tell that the amount of roster changes MIBR had did not bring insani up to his real potential as a player. That team has been in shambles most of the time. A great organization with a great coach and good management will look at this and say, “This guy speaks English, he is young, he has already shown potential, and he showed all of that in an organization that keeps changing rosters every three months.” It has been a terrible environment for him to develop as a player. Suddenly he has an IGL, then the guy drops the IGL role, then they bring someone else. It has just been terrible for his development. Under the right environment, everybody will see that he could be a good pickup.
In terms of teams, it is challenging. I do see top-10 teams that could benefit from having him. We do not know what is going to happen with MOUZ, for example, depending on their rifle spots. Maybe he could be an option there. Spinx maybe, if Spinx is not playing great. There is also 9z if he wants to stay local. G2 could also be a possibility if MATYS is not performing well, or maybe NertZ, because there has been criticism around him lately. G2 already speaks English. MOUZ already speaks English. FURIA could be an option too, if they decide to stay with a Brazilian player or if they make two changes. Let’s say YEKINDAR leaves after FalleN retires, then that would open up a spot for insani and another guy. I do not think he is ready for teams like Falcons or Vitality yet. But for teams like G2, MOUZ, FURIA, or maybe Aurora if they go toward an English-speaking roster, I think he could have a spot in the near future.
Then if we talk about Legacy, they beat Falcons at CS Asia Championships. What impresses you the most about this team?
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The first thing that impresses me the most about Legacy is the management as a whole. I think they did a great job keeping the roster and the core together for a very long time. dumau and latto have been there for ages now, and they certainly developed as players during that period. It is a team that did not have as many roster changes as some other Brazilian teams, and I think that helped them a lot. But they also reached a point where they needed some fresh air.
After lux joined the roster and they had that Major run, everybody got impressed. I think there was a period where they did not know how much potential they actually had. Then they beat Vitality in a best-of-one on Inferno, started beating some top teams, and I think that gave them confidence and made them understand that they could be up there. That unlocked their real potential as a roster.
They are still very inconsistent, especially after arT joined. arT brings another perspective to the game. It is a very unique style, and it is going to help the players develop even more, just like he did in FURIA. But that takes time and it will be inconsistent. People will get used to the way they play, then arT needs to be smart about it because he has this very unique, aggressive, fast-paced style.
The thing that impresses me the most is their ability to reinvent themselves as a team while keeping a really talented core in dumau and latto. From what I know in the background, they had multiple offers to leave that roster already from different teams, and they decided to stay there, probably because it is a great organization and they believe in the project. Kudos to them. They did a great job developing those two guys. The future looks bright for them and for the roster itself.
Were you satisfied with the overall performance of Brazilian teams at the IEM Cologne Major?
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For my personal taste, the way Brazilian teams played as a whole at this Major was a complete disaster. We can start with Gaimin Gladiators. That was the worst performance of a Brazilian team at a Major. I think the story speaks for itself. They made a roster change a few weeks before the Major, removed one of their most talented players with no explanation, brought fer back from retirement, barely had time to practice, went to the Major, and their playstyle was completely bad. There is no coincidence for me that they pulled the plug, benched the entire roster, and the project is done now.
For Sharks, I do not have much criticism. They are a young roster with a lot of potential. It is an organization that always had young projects with upcoming talent. They do not spend a lot of money on buyouts or buying the best players, and I like that. It was their first big Major, a stacked Major with a lot of great teams, so they showed promising signs. We need to see more from them, but it is too early to criticize.
MIBR did great in Stage 1, but when you look at who they beat, it does not really impress me. They lost the opening match against THUNDER dOWNUNDER in disappointing fashion. Then they barely beat TYLOO 16-14, a team from Asia that does not have the same opportunities for bootcamps and tournaments. They barely beat Liquid, and then they beat Lynn Vision. So at the end of the day, they beat a Liquid team in shambles and two Asian teams, while losing to an Australian team.
When they reached Stage 2 and finally faced stronger opposition, they disappointed completely. They only won against Legacy in a local best-of-one matchup where they know each other very well. Then they got destroyed by Spirit, which is fine because Spirit are on another level, but then they lost to BIG and B8. The level they showed in Stage 2 was very different from Stage 1, even though there were only two or three days between the stages. Very inconsistent.
I do think MIBR have potential to do better in the future, but results-wise, I do not think you should be happy with advancing by beating TYLOO, Liquid and Lynn Vision in the current state of those teams. That should have been their obligation, and it should have been more comfortable. For paiN Gaming, it was probably the worst result they have had with this team. I watched all their matches, and it was really hard to watch. They opened the Major by losing to TYLOO, then lost to BIG, and then barely beat FlyQuest. They beat Astralis, which is the only decent result they had, and then lost 0-2 to Monte.
I do not criticize them for losing to Monte because Monte played great at the Major. But paiN have had this core together for such a long time. It is incredibly disappointing that they have not been able to build a proper map pool. They just play Nuke. They pick Nuke all the time, and if they do not win Nuke, they lose the matches. If they win Nuke, they have a chance, but their map pool has been really bad.
I feel like I gave them a lot of time. They have been able to reinvent themselves as a roster before, but now people have to start questioning the way biguzera, the coach, and the structure are handling things. After one year together, not being able to have a decent map pool to compete at a good level is really disappointing. Legacy did what people expected in Stage 2. They came from winning an event, so there was expectation that they would go through and then face the real challenge in Stage 3. That is exactly what happened. They started by losing to MIBR, beat FlyQuest, lost a close match to Monte, and then beat M80 and TYLOO 2-0. M80 had been playing great at the Major, so fair enough, I think Legacy did what everybody expected, and it was nice to watch.
Then in Stage 3, against harder opponents, they showed their level is not there yet. They lost badly to MOUZ, NAVI and G2, and only beat PARIVISION, a team that was basically dead and collapsed after the Major. I do not think Legacy’s result was a disappointment, but I would have liked to see them compete at a better level against those teams. After the G2 match, there was an interview with dumau where you could clearly see his frustration. He mentioned several times that he was not happy with the way they played. I do not know if it had to do with arT’s calling, health issues in the team, or just their inconsistency against top teams. They still need time to understand how to play against those types of teams. They were great in Asia, they beat Falcons, but then they showed how hard it is to be consistent in Counter-Strike.
FURIA were the one Brazilian team that did well, but that is also why I say the Brazilian teams heavily disappointed overall. We expected Legacy and maybe paiN Gaming, because of their experience, to do better. paiN were a huge disappointment. Legacy were expected to do a little better. In the end, it was just FURIA, and everybody already knew FURIA were the best Brazilian team.
FURIA developed during the Major. They started a little cold, but they improved match by match. They beat MOUZ, beat BetBoom, and made playoffs. That was great. But the biggest challenge for FURIA moving forward is still their map pool. They were really close to losing 2-0 to 9z. People underrate that. The game started really badly on Mirage, 9z had momentum, then 9z got nervous and FURIA used their experience. FalleN felt that, outcalled max, and FURIA came back. Then Overpass was a walk in the park. Against Aurora, I do not think Aurora played up to their level at all. You could see after the game that MAJ3R said they did not play. They choked, they were nervous, they had never been in that position before. I do not want to take anything away from FURIA, but Aurora could have played better.
Against Falcons, I predicted FURIA would lose. Even as a Brazilian, even cheering for FURIA, I thought Falcons had proved themselves much more during the Major cycle. They beat the best teams: Spirit, Vitality, everybody. FURIA had an easier path, struggled against 9z, beat an Aurora that was not itself, and once they faced a really good team, they lost 3-0 in dominant fashion.
Falcons removed Overpass from them. FURIA were not comfortable picking Nuke because Falcons have a great CT side. They ended up playing weaker maps and started on T side. Their T sides were not great during the Major cycle, while their CT sides were amazing. So it was not a surprise that they got dominated on every map. Another huge mistake from FURIA, in my eyes, is that they did not try Anubis at all during the Major. Then they played Anubis for the first time in a grand final. They had no idea if their Anubis was good or not. It was a really hard matchup against a strong team with a strong map pool and a lot of momentum.
FURIA will continue to be a great team, but they need to become more consistent with their map pool. Anubis needs to be there. They need to develop Inferno again. They need to stop being afraid of picking Nuke, because it is a great map for them. They cannot rely on Overpass anymore because Overpass is gone. It is going to be challenging.
FURIA were very good last year, but after FalleN announced this would be his final year, they have not played well except in Krakow. Is it more about the map pool, teams figuring them out, or individual performances like yuurih?
There are multiple things that hurt their performance. The first thing is that in CS, sometimes you suffer from success. When you start having success like they did last year, it is not that teams stop working hard, but there is a feeling of, “We are winning, so we do not need to change much.” Then you stop changing things as much as you did before, teams figure out how to play against you, and it becomes challenging.
You are used to winning, then suddenly you start losing, and people start having egos. molodoy admitted he had personal problems at the beginning of the year. He also said he tried to change the way he was playing because he thought it would be better for the team, that he would play more for the team and not for himself. But he had success last year by being one of the best AWPers, playing the way he played. So why change?
Suddenly he changed the way he played, his performance dropped, and FURIA suffered from it. He had huge impact against Vitality and against those top teams last year. He was outplaying almost every AWPer at the end of the year. So molodoy’s drop in performance had a huge impact. FURIA also suffered from success and were not able to adapt fast enough. The rumors about FalleN retiring also affected them. There was pressure to perform because it was his last year, and once he announced it, that brought even more pressure to their shoulders. yuurih’s numbers also have not been the greatest. It was a combination of many factors.
One of the most important factors is still the map pool. When FURIA had success last year, Overpass was one of their best maps. They were beating everybody on it. Then suddenly it became a map they were not only avoiding, but sometimes banning in the second rotation. When they lost confidence on Train and Overpass, they had problems. They do not play Anubis much, so what do they have? Mirage, which has been inconsistent; Inferno, which has been a great map for them; Dust2; and Nuke, where they are scared of picking it because they do not want to start T side. So they have maybe two comfortable maps, and Nuke is a maybe. That is a problem.
At the Major, they finally brought Overpass back and played well on it. It gave them comfortable wins. But now Overpass is gone again, and we do not know where they go from here. That has been the story of their lives: they lost Train, now they lose Overpass, and we will see how it goes. Add the pressure of FalleN retiring in six months, and there are a lot of challenges ahead.
What roster changes would you like to see Brazilian teams make during roster mania?
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For paiN Gaming, the first thing I would like to see is a coaching change. I think the cycle of the coach is done. I would like to see a new coach there, someone who could get biguzera out of his comfort zone. I would not give up on biguzera yet, but I would like to see him under different guidance. It could be an English-speaking coach or another type of coach, but someone who changes the leadership structure a bit.
I also do not think the vsm experiment worked. I would try to bring another player to replace him. The options are difficult right now, but maybe someone like felps, if he is available. He has a lot of impact, he would need space, but he has experience and firepower if he really wants it. That could be a great pickup. paiN definitely need a firepower increase. I do not think you can rely on sn0w and piriajr in their respective roles. They have been decent, and sn0w had his best performance ever at the Major, but it still was not enough.
For MIBR, the first thing they need to do is not lose insani. If they lose insani, it is going to be really challenging. The first role I would change is the AWPer. I do not think kl1m is a great AWPer. I think he is a good player, but as an AWPer, I do not like him. He misses too many shots and barely buys the gun. I do not know why he wants to AWP if he does not buy the AWP and misses too many shots when he does.
They are apparently bringing nqz, which is a step in the right direction. I think nqz is probably better than kl1m, but I do not know if it is enough. Unfortunately, there are not many good AWPers available in Brazil right now. Brazil has a problem where we do not have good available AWPers or good available IGLs. We have too many players who care only about stats and want star roles. That is why some teams are going international with IGLs, coaches, and other pieces.
For Legacy, losing n1ssim is difficult. They apparently expected to get insani, but insani declined the offer and does not want to join them. I do not know what happened. It is weird to me because n1ssim has been a great anchor. Legacy are the type of organization that likes to bring new talent, and I think that is the path they will take. I do not think they will bring someone like skullz or someone who has been out there but has not been playing great. I think they will go for a young player to replace n1ssim.
I also think Legacy need to change the coach. I think the current coach is very inexperienced and will not bring much to the roster. I would like to see arT challenged as well. arT desperately needs someone who can bring another perspective to the game, someone who will disagree with him sometimes and make him think differently. I think he would benefit from that.
The AWPer role is another question. saadzin has been inconsistent. If Legacy want to take the next step, either he needs to develop as an AWPer or they need to bring an AWPer with more impact. Again, it is challenging because Brazil does not have many good opportunities available right now. For FURIA, I do not think they should change anything until the end of the year. But they have a lot of questions to worry about after FalleN retires, especially how to keep their level. That will be a huge loss. They also need to satisfy KSCERATO and YEKINDAR so they stay in the project. If FURIA start playing badly, I think YEKINDAR could be the first one to leave, maybe to a Russian-speaking team or something like that. If that happens, the project could collapse, and they may go back to a Brazilian roster. You never know.
A lot of teams are building academy projects now. You have watched Brazilian CS very closely. How do you see Brazilian CS at the grassroots level, and what do you think it will look like in five years?
That comes down to a lot of Valve questions: what they are doing with the season, the VRS, and now the sticker situation. Those were two big hits to the Brazilian scene and the Brazilian market. There are pros and cons. One of the pros is that right now in Brazil, it is a disaster in terms of contracts. There are abusive contracts with high buyouts, and players are not getting good compensation for the buyouts they have. There are players from teams that have not accomplished anything, who do not even have social media, do not stream, have not competed outside Brazil, and their buyout is the same as a player from a tier-two or tier-three European team. Sometimes they do not even speak English. That is already a problem.
The pro of everything that is happening is that organizations will have to rethink the whole thing because it is unsustainable. Who is going to buy those players? Now they do not even have the guarantee that by making the Major they will get their investment back, because it depends on results. If you do badly, the sticker money does not pay the bills. So now it is not about just qualifying for the Major anymore. Now it is about building a good team able to compete at a good level. That is where the challenge starts. I think salaries should drop. Contracts will have to be reviewed because nobody will spend a million dollars on a player just because he has talent. Is he 100 percent going to bring results to your team? You do not know. Then you do not buy him. It is going to be really challenging.
The VRS has been great, in my opinion. Everybody criticized it at the beginning because it was unknown, but it turned out to be a great move. It benefits good teams. You have to perform, you have to keep playing. You cannot just sit, farm points, and disappear. You lose points. There is a lot of emotion toward the end of the Major cycle when teams are fighting for the last points. I think it is great.
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But if nothing changes in the Brazilian market, I see organizations shutting doors. Player salaries will change drastically, and the future does not look very bright right now. You already see organizations leaving. Fluxo may shut doors in the near future if they do not accomplish anything with this roster. RED Canids already dropped the project, and they were an organization that invested a lot in the scene. ODDIK invested a lot, dropped the roster, and now have a young talented team.
I think the future of Brazilian teams may become this: organizations building academy-style teams with the goal of selling players to bigger teams like paiN Gaming, MIBR and FURIA. Everybody could become an academy team if nothing changes. I do believe Brazil has a lot of talent, a lot of players, and a lot of opportunities. The problem is not talent or skill. The problem is the money being invested. Keeping rosters is expensive. Traveling around the world, bootcamping, and improving a team takes massive investment. It is really challenging. Five years is tough to predict. If things change and become more sustainable, and organizations can invest again, Brazil definitely has the talent. But if nothing changes, it is going to be very difficult.
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