FalleN: "We are really confident"

As part of our pre-WCG interview series, we sat down with Brazilian superstar Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo and asked him about life at compLexity.

The Brazilian giants made headlines earlier this month when they opted to migrate to American organisation compLexity, who had just lost their Counter-Strike team.

The team will make their official LAN debut for coL next week, at the WCG finals, having been drawn with Russian heavyweights forZe and Pakistani side i-DX.

In this exclusive interview with HLTV.org, Toledo comments on his side's switch to compLexity, their preparations for the tournament, and how he portraits himself in the AWP'ing business.

First off, when did compLexity first approach your team and how long did negotiations take between the two parties?

Well I think I can say that we approached compLexity. As I said somewhere the idea of joining compLexity appeared in bit's head and my own quite a while ago, but it got serious after the ESWC in France. We did some presentations and had some talks with Jax. He initially explained to us that they weren’t adding a squad because they already had a line-up (POV). However, he liked what we proposed and said we could talk later on. So when they removed the previous lineup Jax came to us and said we could start the negotiations again.

What made you accept compLexity’s offer? Did you have other offers on the table?

If there was one word that could answer this question I would say opportunity. At compLexity we are able to play more international events and in our opinion that is what we need. No, there wasn’t another offer and for now I can say I doubt there is another organization that would trust in us like compLexity is doing.

Have you already started looking for an apartment to live and practice in?

We are at Bruno’s place right now. We have 5 computers here and have been spending all our time practicing. When we come back from United States we will start looking for that. We already have an idea of where this is going to be.

Judging from what your team-mates have told you, how similar is compLexity’s support to the one provided by Made in Brazil back in the day?

I’m the only one that has never played for MiBR in our team. I don’t think I can compare this situation because of that. We don’t talk too much about it.

At the ESWC finals, you finished in 5-8 place. Were you happy with your results at the event?

Yes of course. It was my second international event and I could see a lot of improvement there.

How has your team been practicing for the WCG finals?

Reviewing strategies, trying to sharpen our aim and improving our team play. Good thing is that we can play against CnB and MiBR now, teams that usually don’t want to practice with us.

Your team has been drawn with forZe and i-DX  for the WCG. What do you know about these two teams?

I know forZe are good and group-phase can be very dangerous. You need to be ready for everything. I hope we pass the group and I don’t care about the results.

What are your team’s goals for this event?

We will always join a tournament trying to be the champion. After joining coL the pressure for good results has increased and we are really confident about doing great in this tournament. I prefer not saying positions but I want to take down some top teams.

At WCG Pan America, your team overcame Evil Geniuses, and you surpassed fRoD in an individual AWP duel. Were you confident that you could do it, going into the match?

I guess it was lucky for me that nuke was the first map. After a victory all the things become easier and everybody can do better in game. fRoD is an insane player and I’m so proud of myself that  I could help my team take on such a talented player. My trust increased as each round passed because I did exactly what was needed to win point by point against then.

You are considered by many as one of the top AWPers in the world nowadays. Is this an assessment you agree with?

I think I’m good but there are a LOT of players who have already accomplished more and are at least as good as me. However, I really don’t think you can say someone is better than someone else, mainly in AWP questions. Counter-Strike is a crazy game and each game depends a lot on how you are prepared. And by prepared I mean in-game and out-game. What I like is that I have my own style and I think it work greats for me.

How would you compare your playing style with that of the other renowned Brazilian AWPers, Eduzin and cogu?

Well eduzin played a long time ago and Counter-Strike used to be different. I watched cogu a lot and every time I was doing that I tried to focus and learn from his game to improve mine. I think both of them had their own playing style and I can say I play a little differently. If you don’t respect people that did it before you, you probably don’t deserve being compared to them.

Some days later, your team surprisingly finished in third place at the Mega GH Acervus Cup. What went wrong?

The tournament was great but in game terms I can say there were a lot of unexpected matches. I can say that we were not playing our best and this event showed us that we have a new generation of players coming out there and holding the top will become harder each event.

What is your opinion about semXorah, the team who won the tournament. Do you think they can mount a serious challenge in the future?

I respect and personally like some of their players a lot but I don’t think they can damage us again. Maybe if they keep practicing as they did for Acervus tourney they can improve their game and keep some good positions.

After your team left for compLexity, FireGamers decided to promote FG.Bullguard as their main squad. What is your opinion about this team?

These guys (pedro, dukka and shemp) show a lot of promise. Since the beginning they were playing together and I guess Luciano did the right thing. I really think we will see them beating the top teams there soon.

Jason Lake recently said that moving your team to the United States was a possibility. Is this a scenario you are looking forward to?

Good possibility. That’s all. Need to figure about that so much and I prefer to start thinking about that when the opportunity arises.

Do you have other events planned already?

We are (probably) going to play Intel Extreme Masters after WCG at New York and Kode5 in November. We also want to play a tournament in Europe this year.

Want to say thanks for the opportunity and also thanks Creative, XFX, QPAD, G8 Brand and Sound Blaster for supporting us. That’s all for now folks.