Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo is a two-time Major winner, a respected in-game leader and a devastating AWPer. And, while his success on Counter-Strike's biggest stages alone would be enough to mark him as one of the best players in CS:GO history, his legacy is built of so much more than in-game results. This is his story. FalleN was born on May 30th, 1991 and grew up near Sao Paulo, Brazil. At a young age he gained a love of video games by watching over his brother's shoulder as he played.
He was a natural talent in Counter-Strike and by 14 he was already competing on his first team, Crashers, in Brazilian CS 1.6 tournaments and World Cyber Games events http://cdrmania.net/50-gaming-pc-challenge/. A few years later he was asked to join Fire Gamers, whose roster included well-known talents Like Lincoln "fnx" Lau and Renato "nak" Nakano. FalleN's reputation quickly spread outside of Brazil thanks to impressive individual performances at ESWC and WCG events. His deadly ability with the AWP marked him as the heir apparent to Raphael "cogu" Camargo the best player in Brazil and star of MiBR. Thorin: 'What happens is amazingly enough a player comes up as a rising talent who basically was as close to cogu as you could ever get in play style, skill set and even like the role that he used in the team it was like a cogu is cogu 2.0.' However, just as FalleN was coming into his own as a legitimate star-level talent, Counter-Strike in Brazil began to wane. Players became split between 1.6 and the newer Counter-Strike: Source While at the same time the upper echelon competitors of the scene, such as cogu himself, began to retire or move away from CS. But, FalleN's passion for the game was unwavering So, he began teaching online Counter-Strike classes, the profits of which he used to create Games Academy in January of 2012, a school dedicated to teaching high-level Counter-Strike. FalleN: 'The main idea of this project is to give you guys a good content on how you can become a better CS:GO player. And we're gonna be talking about a lot of stuff, a lot of tips, a lot of strategies, a lot of thought you need to understand and how you can improve your game.' For the next few years FalleN continued to grind away, a figurehead around which Brazilian Counter-Strike, rallied but growth was slow, even after the release of Global Offensive in 2012. However, once FalleN himself made the switch to CS:GO, his career quickly regained momentum. After a stint on Pro Gaming.TD, FalleN became a founding member of KaBuM! eSports' CS:GO division. The roster, which reunited FalleN with fnx, also included Fernando "fer" Alvarenga and the young guns of Lucas "LUCAS1" Teles and Henrique "HEN1" Teles. The move would prove to be a significant stepping stone in FalleN's career because it connected him with fer, who has since become his right-hand man. Unfortunately for KaBuM!, their first big international event, ESWC 2014, did not go well. Their flop, plus a merger between KaBuM! and Pro Gamers. TD, prompted a roster shakeup leading Into FalleNs' next big test, the MLG Aspen Invitational. Sadokist: 'Doesn't matter Zqk and steel still get it! It's over just like that! Cloud9 get obliterated against the Brazilians, KaBuM! I don't think anyone saw that coming and Cloud9 looks stunned. They look speechless. And watch out world - Brazil's got a contender. They look so so so good as a team right now.' While they didn't make it out of groups, FalleN's preparation and tactics took center stage as KaBuM!TD dismantled American favorites Cloud9 in an impressive map win. The performance caught the attention of the community, putting FalleN back on the map. KaBuM! followed that up with a solid quarterfinal finish at ClutchCon 2015. Their upward trajectory seemed set. An invitation to the ESL One Katowice 2015 qualifiers was FalleN's reward. But there was just one problem: Money KaBuM!TD couldn't afford to fly the team to Poland for the qualifier. For a team on the rise, missing the Major qualifier would be a disaster. FalleN: 'It was fantastic because in five days we raise it all - the money we needed.' While the community initially came through with around four thousand Euros, it was Fnatic's Robin "flusha" Ronnquist who was the hero Donating a 1400 Euro portion of his share of Fnatic's first-place winnings at The IOS Pantamara to the Brazilians. After an additional twenty five hundred dollar donation by ESEA, KaBuM!TD was able to make their way to Poland in time for the qualifier. But, successfully qualifying would mean little if they didn't perform at The Major itself, even with a new sponsor, Keyd Stars Taking the financial worries off the team's mind. Thankfully, the Brazilians once again showed up in a big way. [casting] TaZ: 'It's jus the start for [Keyd Stars]. I know they were happy with the score already. Like, with the quarterfinals.
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AuthorTim Sobers is a famous traveler and blogger, passionate camping and hiking lover. Tim is from Washington, D.C., US. He is also a writer at Students QA platform. ArchivesCategories |