FalleN: "We need to find the kind of form we were in before the break and we can go far"

The Brazilian veteran played down the loss to SAW in their opening match in Belgrade.

FURIA are through to Group A's decider stage at FISSURE Playground 1 following a quick 2-0 victory against Wildcard that eliminated the Americas squad in last place.

It was a far improved performance from the Brazilian side after Tuesday's opening loss to SAW, which Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo chalked up to his team still trying to hit their stride after the break and the Portuguese side having two new players.

"It's very hard not having any information about the opponent, it makes things harder," he told HLTV after the match. "I'm not going to deny it, we're used to watching how our opponents play and trying to set up our game accordingly.

"But a mix of not being able to prepare for it properly because they're a new team and the fact that we're still not in the groove playing made it possible for them to win the match."

FURIA entered this tournament as the highest-rated squad and one of just two teams inside the top 10 alongside paiN. The two Brazilian sides crossed paths twice at the Austin Major, with paiN knocking FURIA out of the tournament in the quarter-finals.

"Overall, I think we picked up where we left off at the Major," he said. "We were quite satisfied with how we played. We learned a lot from every match, especially the ones against paiN. We learned some interesting things."

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A 2-0 victory against Wildcard in an elimination series. Is this the kind of response you wanted to see from the team after the loss yesterday?

For sure. I think yesterday our level was a lot lower than we wanted, but in a way it was expected because we just got back from the break and we haven't had that much time to play. We made a lot of mistakes, we missed a lot of grenades, we couldn't get some kills that were easy, so the focus today was not just on improving in those aspects, getting kills and the grenades right, but also bringing more energy from the start of the game. We have to fight for every round like it's the team's first. That was our expectation, and it worked out well.

Were you surprised by the way SAW played? Perhaps the fact that they are a new team, with two new players, made it harder for you to prepare for the game?

Yes, it's very hard not having any information about the opponent, it makes things harder. I'm not going to deny it, we're used to watching how our opponents play and trying to set up our game accordingly. But a mix of not being able to prepare for it properly because they're a new team and the fact that we're still not in the groove playing made it possible for them to win the match.

Unfortunately, you only have 10 to 15 days for a break in the middle of the year. That's pretty much the only time we have to rest and do something other than travel for tournaments and bootcamp. And for most of us, who are living away from home, those 10 to 15 days are very important. So for the Brazilian teams that live abroad, that period is reserved for a mental break and such.

We didn't have the best preparation, only five practice days. We were supposed to have two more with molodoy, but his flight got delayed. We just need to find the kind of form we were in before the break and we can go far in this tournament.

And during those two days of uncertainty, was molodoy able to practice with the team from Kazakhstan or not at all?

There was no practice. He'd board the plane and be there for three hours and the plane wouldn't take off. Those two days were like that for him.

Going back to the Major, you had that quarter-final match against paiN. Looking at the bracket, you had a good chance of making the final. What was the sentiment after the elimination? What do you think went wrong in the match against paiN?

We didn't lose to anyone else at the Major, so obviously we felt we could have gone farther. In that series, I think we needed a better CT showing on Anubis, which was our pick. We had some chances but we lost some rounds, I think two or three clutches that we could have won. There were some small mistakes, gameplay mistakes or just communication, and I messed up one of the rounds by communicating a lot of unnecessary stuff, which got in the way of those who were playing. There were some things that made Anubis really hard for us.

I think we had Inferno under control and they pulled off a great comeback. We still took it to OT but they were the better team, they showed guts by playing aggressively. I think paiN deserved to win the third map. We also lost a round that would have broken paiN's economy and made the game a lot easier for us. With that round slipping away, the game got a lot harder. It was a bit of several things, but overall I think paiN deserved to go through. It was a shame they couldn't make it past the semi-finals, they could have gone farther as well, but The MongolZ were better.

What were the main takeaways from the Major?

In my opinion, we need to focus a bit more on arena matches, where the pressure is very high. You need to be a bit more objective in what you're going to do in rounds like that one we lost to paiN. I think that round really haunted me after the tournament. Overall, I think we picked up where we left off at the Major. We were quite satisfied with how we played. We learned a lot from every match, especially the ones against paiN. We learned some interesting things.

What are your goals for this event, considering that after this you'll have IEM Cologne, one of the main tournaments of the year? Have your goals changed in any way after yesterday's loss?

This is a very important tournament for us, like every tournament we play. It's a very good tournament with a really big prize pool, and we're one of the highest-ranked teams here, so it's very important for us, also in terms of the ranking. At the same time, we have to deal with the fact we're coming from a break and there's no way around it. Not taking time off is not an option because otherwise, fatigue and stress build up and you have no time to reset.

 So we're aware that it's a super important tournament and we're doing as much as we can in the conditions we have. It's also a way for us not to play Cologne straight after the break. With a tournament beforehand, we learn things and get more used to competition, which will make us come out stronger in Cologne.

Our expectation is that we can play nice matches, that we can play at our best level, the way we played today, and that we grow as the tournament goes on and we go far. Who knows, maybe we can win the title. We want to win, but our expectation can't just be about winning. You have to be at the top to imagine yourself winning the next tournament. Until you've won a tournament or a run of tournaments, there's no reason why you should have that kind of pressure.

I also wanted to ask about last night's update. What is your opinion about the changes, especially the return of Overpass to replace Anubis?

Personally, I am very happy to see Overpass back. It's a map that I really enjoy and where I have had a lot of success in the past. I think it's a map that will bring a bit of a slower pace to CS. CS is a bit fast paced right now, and this is a map that used to be played a bit slower. Although a lot of people enjoy Anubis, I think it's too T-sided, a bit too unbalanced, but it wouldn't have been a problem if it were to stay in the pool and another map had to go.

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Overpass replaces Anubis in Active Duty map pool

A lot of people were calling for Mirage to be replaced, but I think it's a classic map. Personally, I'm happier to see Anubis go than I would have if they had removed Mirage, even though it's been in the pool for this many years. I was happy with these map changes. I think the MP9 was too strong and had to be adjusted. As for the economy changes, we will have to test them, but the economy needed to be improved, and maybe this will help.