Team Liquid looked more dynamic than ever Wednesday during Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo’s debut match as the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team’s in-game leader and AWPer.
FalleN, who was picked up during CS:GO‘s winter player break, helped Liquid shut down the No. 3 team in the world, Natus Vincere, in a 2-0 sweep at the Blast Premier Global Final quarterfinals. But what specifically did the Brazilian Counter-Strike star do to spark Liquid’s upset? Here’s a breakdown of FalleN’s performance Wednesday and how he led Liquid to a Thursday semifinal matchup against Team Vitality.
Liquid’s T side
Prior to FalleN joining Liquid, Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip was both the in-game leader and primary AWPer for the team. However, with Stewie2k on the AWP, Liquid had no dedicated entry-fragger.
With FalleN taking over Stewie2k’s previous role, Stewie is back as the entry fragger. Although his death count has gone up as a result, Stewie’s part in getting information on the opponent’s positioning is integral to his team’s success. Keith “Naf” Markovic and Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski can know exactly where their opponents are thanks to Stewie’s aggressive approach and then finish off the remaining site players.
Nasty Naf is Back
Naf stepped up for Liquid on Inferno and Nuke against Na’Vi, in part thanks to FalleN pushing him to a different position. On Nuke, Naf played ramp, and in the first 10 rounds, he had 14 kills and only one death with 150 ADR (average damage per round).
Naf also took a different spot on the Counter-Terrorist side. He replaced Michael “Grim” Wince as the B site anchor with Stewie to great success and ended Map 1with a 3.17 K/D (kills/deaths) ratio and 93 ADR.
A dangerous Naffer on the hunt
ca. 2021 (Colorized)#BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/JgEWgvJ8tg
— Team Liquid CSGO (@TeamLiquidCS) January 20, 2021
Problems on Nuke
Although Team Liquid had a fantastic Terrorist-side half, problems in the form of the No. 2 player in the world, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, arose. On the CT side, s1mple bailed his team out with 20 kills and led a comeback from a 5-10 deficit to a 14-12 advantage.
YOU JUST CAN'T DO THAT TO THEM?!@s1mpleO #BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/5JAo3p1r3v
— BLAST Premier 💥 #LetTheBattleBegin (@BLASTPremier) January 20, 2021
Although FalleN was initially unable to answer s1mple, his 1v3 clutch and utility usage gave Liquid the push they needed to win the second game 16-14.
So far, FalleN seems to be the man that Liquid needs. His T-side setups were flawless, his AWP performances were strong and while he gave Naf and Grim new positions to play on defense, both players played even better in their new spots. The newfound freedom for Stewie also appears to be a boon for Liquid going into the winners’ semis.
