The Brazilian CS:GO Scene Is In Chaos Heading Into The 2021 Season, But How Will FalleN Do With Team Liquid?

You will be hard pressed to find a more devout, dedicated and passionate scene in all of competitive Esports as the one Brazil is currently boasting. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has been the go-to game for professional gamers in the region for years now, with Brazil arguably being the only region to consistently stand up to the traditional European dominance seen in the game since its explosion in popularity.

Brazilian CS is known for its fast plays and aggression, with the likes of ArT, HEN1 and Fallen all ething their way into history with some of the most legendary moments in the history of the game’s competitive scene. Coldzera was named as the world’s best player in both 2016 and 2017, and his all-Brazilian orgs of Luminosity and SK Gaming became only the second team in history to win back to back Majors in those years. 

But, since then, the whole region has experienced a serious downturn in fortunes. FURIA and MiBR remain the two big organizations active in CS:GO as Brazil’s representatives, but both have seen some seriously turbulent roster changes over the past couple of weeks that have left the scene looking in dire straits ahead of 2021’s competitive season kicking off at the BLAST Global Finals on January 19th. 

Here’s the full scoop on the biggest story sweeping Brazilian CS right now

Fallen Joins Up With Team Liquid

You will not find a player more celebrated and beloved in the Brazilian CS scene than Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo. The 29 year old is the definition of the Esports dream, rising from humble beginnings through sacrifice, hard work and determination to become one of the best in-game leaders Esports has ever seen. 

FalleN has established himself as one of the best figures in the game for taking prodigy players under his wing and allow them to follow their dreams and play games for money. The likes of Felps, Coldzera, Fer and TACO have all carved out careers in the game thanks to the faith shown by FalleN, and his distinctive style of aggressive AWPing and unique way of making calls as a leader has even gone onto influence plenty of pros outside of Brazil. 

Following the shock announcement following the IEM Global Challenge that Twistzz would be leaving the org, rumours began to circulate that FalleN would be coming in following his own departure from MiBR earlier in the year. And, without wishing to jinx him, he looks like the perfect fit for the NA org. 

Team Liquid have been lacking three things over the past year or so: an AWPer, an in-game leader and a steely head’s worth of experience following their shock losses at the two Majors in 2019 at Katowice and Berlin. 

Stewie2k has done an admirable job in steering the team through this complicated part of their history, but there’s no denying he’s a talismanic figure who needs the freedom to really flex his skills. FalleN coming in to the side will take the pressure of calling and making decisions off him, and allow him to drop into a role that suits him more, be it the main AWPer still, a secondary option that can pick it up when he feels like it, or an out and out rifler who can go rampaging around the map. 

We’ve seen Team Liquid become a side that has an unhealthy tendency to really begin spiralling when things go against them and embark on a losing streak of rounds they, frankly, should never be losing. Stewie2k arguably encompasses this more than any other player, with his K/D and ADR ratios plummeting since taking over the IGL role, which makes for a dangerous combination for a side crying out for some stability. 

Though they might have lost Twistzz, perhaps the best rifler in North America on his day, Team Liquid still posses a roster filled to the brim with punch and power. Grim has emerged as a highly promising talent, Elige is still very much the best player in the NA region and Stewie2k has the confidence and swagger to take on anyone when he’s feeling confident enough. Just like with what he did with the likes of Fer and Coldzera back in the day, FalleN is an IGL who is at his best when he sits back and lets his talented players bring out the best in themselves. 

This way of leading a roster is still very successful in the world of CS:GO, as we’ve seen with figures like Karrigan at Mousesports, CadiaN at Heroic and ALEX at Cloud9, so there’s no reason to think it won’t work equally as well with the Brazilian veteran at Team Liquid in the busy months 2021 has lined up for the org.