FURIA continues its run at EWC 2026 in Paris, and after another match, we spoke with the team captain Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo.
In the interview, FalleN talked about the main strengths of the current FURIA roster, the role of the team and coaching staff, the support of Brazilian fans in Paris, as well as his decision to end his professional career at the end of 2026.
We also discussed YEKINDAR and his possible transition to the IGL role, as well as FURIA’s goals at this tournament.
The full interview with FalleN after FURIA’s match is now on YouTube!
What is the main power of FURIA right now? Is it team management, team plus management, fans or aura overall?
I think we have many things going our way. We have very strong players. We have the ability to work together very well. I think the personalities, they do really mash well together. We have a great organization as well, really giving us almost everything we need and making sure we can play at the higher standards every time. And we have different types of leadership inside the team, which helps as well. I bring some leadership, YEKINDAR mainly brings another leadership, and we have Sid as a coach. So I think in FURIA we have a very stabilized synergy with many great factors coming our way.
You have an analyst from Kazakhstan
Yeah, he's very good. Yeah, he's very good. I think he's working with us for a long time now, and he is capable of organizing the set stuff we do, help us prepare for opponents. He's usually not here because of his situation in his country and all these things, but he is a great asset for the team. He's helping us on an everyday basis in practice, and he's helping us on the preparation as well.
Your fans are always with you. How important is the support of Brazilians here in Paris?
It's great to have Brazilians all around. They are always traveling and finding a way to make some noise and cheer for us during the tournaments. And it gives us hype, and it makes the games more emotional, it makes the games more special because you feel the atmosphere and the energy is just a little bit different than just playing stage games or playing at home. So it makes Counter-Strike be a little bit more alive, so it's great to see.
So it means they bring a bit of home to the crowds over there, yeah?
Yeah, definitely. It's possible to say like that as well. They bring a little bit of Brazil with them.
Previously, I think it was April, you announced that you'll retire at the end of 2026. First question is: has it not changed, like you are on the same position? And the other question part of it is: what are your emotions as every played match and tournament comes closer to the end of your long career
Honestly, in terms of playing the matches, I don't feel too much pressure or I don't feel too emotional because maybe at the very end when it's actually about to happen, I'm going to start feeling more. But for now, I'm just working as I would not stop. I think it's the only mindset that's possible if you really want to win as well. So I got to make sure that I'm working as hard as I can, learning as much as I can, like it's going to last forever, you know? And this is the only way to go with teammates as well. But in terms of what's going to happen, yeah, the plan is to not play anymore professionally next year. But it's a roller coaster. There are times when I feel like, why did I say that, I want to play more. There are times I'm like, yes, that's it. It's the same as before I mentioned it. But it's just how it is. But we'll go from there.
So it may be in 2027 we'll see you again? Or maybe not?
Yeah, that's the $1,000,000 question. Nobody knows, not even me. (laughs)
Okay, and the last question. You mentioned YEKINDAR and his role right now within the team. It's like a question about the IGL and captainship. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like YEKINDAR is getting closer to IGL right now, he's calling more. Are you exploring this option to be like... if you leave, he will be the next captain? And what are you doing to maybe help him in order to get to it?
Yeah, I'd say that since he joined, he was always a big voice into the team in terms of how we want to play, and even during the games helping me choose what to do and coordinate what to fix on the team, all those things. So he's already a big voice, despite me leaving the team later or not. And now that we know that I might leave at the end of the year, we know that we're going to have to replace for a new player. And then we have two open up possibilities: we either going to get an IGL or we're going to have YEKINDAR transition into IGL and get a new player. So there are a few options on the table. But it's too early to say because we have so many more months to play, and I think our heads are not completely on that. But what I can say is that for now, there are some maps where he's already actually taking the charge of calling, like he did on Ancient yesterday, he did on Ancient today as well. So yeah, Ancient is looking good, you know? He's very capable, he's very smart, works very hard, understands a lot about the game. So for me it's a pleasure to be just supporting and being the second voice like he does with me in many other maps, and see how it goes from there.
And the final question: what are the goals for FURIA for this tournament?
Our goal is to win. Every tournament we go we hope to win. But I understand and I have self-awareness that sometimes people can be better than you, sometimes other teams also have the same goals. So in the end it's going to be who can actually perform when it matters. And right now I think we have been able to do it twice, but you need four. So we need two more matches to go, and I'm looking forward. Maybe we can win this tournament, but we got to keep going step by step.
Thank you.
And thank you!
FalleN also noted that despite the possibility of ending his professional career at the end of the year, he continues to work and prepare for every match with maximum dedication.
We would like to thank CS legend FalleN for this exclusive interview and for the time he dedicated to our team. FURIA continues its run at EWC 2026.
As a reminder, an interview with Andrii “npl” Kukharskyi — a B8 player after their match at EWC 2026.
