FalleN on paiN and FURIA: "I think those offers definitely open doors"

The BLAST Premier Spring Finals in Washington D.C. kicked off in the most stunning way possible, with Brazilian side Imperial besting Major-winners Vitality 2-0 to move on to upper-bracket finals. After trouncing the European side on Overpass, the series moved to Vitality's pick of Vertigo, where Imperial closed out the map 16-14 after a hotly-contested second map.

Following the conclusion of the series, Imperial in-game leader and AWPer Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo spoke with Dust2.us' Samuel "Draik04" Popkes regarding the match, including teammate Marcelo "chelo" Cespedes' comments on the game, FalleN's individual future, and the team's prospects for the remainder of the event.

Congratulations on the win over Vitality; how does it feel?

Feels amazing. We do stress a lot over time, but that's what we're always looking for, wins like that.

Were you guys worried it would fall apart on Vertigo?

I felt comfortable during the second map because we had a huge lead, we could lose some rounds. They were doing some proper B hits and I think we were not holding them well enough and then that was giving them some rounds. We just had to keep our heads high and believe that something would happen, and we kept changing the way we'd play to see if something would come up. But the confidence was high the whole time.

Speaking of confidence, I spoke to chelo yesterday about the Vitality matchup and he said it would be an "easy game". Were you all that confident heading into this?

(laughs). No, he was just joking. He even said, "Hey I did an interview with a guy and I made a joke and he made that the headline". After saying that the game would be easy he said we had a good notion of where we're at and where Vitality is, but at the same time we know how good we can play and today we just played that.

I also spoke to VINI yesterday, who speculated that Vitality may not have practiced much since the Major win. Do you think that was a contributing factor to your win, or did you just have their number?

Well, we practice in Brazil. Does it matter much? Those teams play for so long together they know what they're doing when it comes to those games. You were just watching Counter-Strike, you know there's no free games for anyone anymore. When we can win rounds like that, we can play a good game like that, we can win against good teams too.

Both you and boltz have been transparent about the possibility of moves on the team. Do you think that honesty helped relieve pressure for the event?

I think this is one fact, but the fact that we are all open to different ideas and realizing that hey, even though it's very stressful to stay together, even though it's not working as we would like to work, there are different horizons in front of us. So how can we do the best right now with the lineup we have, the opportunities that we have, and I think that kind of mentality opens up conversations a little bit more. I think a huge part on that; it's been very stressful for me lately. I definitely have to find a balance between my personal life and the work life, because it's been too much one-sided towards work, and I just don't have the mental ability to stay at the top of my game, plus on the top of my leading skills inside and outside the game, so that plays a huge part. But I also have the understanding that it's not only about me, I can't just hold everything on my back so everyone plays a huge part in that. I think we are playing much better and finding this confidence in ourselves and working together. As we always do today, we can do more.

So at the end of the day, these talks with paiN and FURIA, and maybe staying with Imperial, just comes down to striking that work-life balance for you?

I think those offers definitely open doors that I could access if I really want to, so I'm still wondering what those doors are, how they look like, how much I can incorporate my other business into their teams, which players I would be playing with. If I think one of those teams is my future, and I really want to compete, then I can access those doors. It's a very transitional phase for everyone at the moment; the game is changing, organizations are looking for the best options, even inside and outside the game, so there's a lot of talks.

As long as I use that opportunity to grow as a person as well. I think every single thing we go through in our careers and during we're life we're learning something about ourselves, how to deal with negotiations, how to approach tough situations like this one, how can we take the best from a situation like this. There's a lot to be learning, and I'm just very grateful that my teammates understand my process, that have been with me the whole time. Now we can experience some good joy together and maybe stick together for the future, who knows?

This win should secure you a place on stage in front of the crowd. How does that feel?

It's definitely huge for us, a big opportunity to be playing a CS:GO event again, and CS is best played in front of people cheering, so it's gonna be an amazing feeling for us, so very happy about it.

Does this win over Vitality make you reconsider how far you guys can go this event?

Well definitely, it gives us a little more hope, but at the same time I do understand that we cannot just think that we are playing at that level consistently. There's so much more for us to grow as a team if we wanna get there. I respect Vitality and all the other teams here a lot, but at the same time we gotta show what we got. When the game comes in, it's either their mom crying or yours, you gotta do what you gotta do.

You'll be playing the winner of Cloud9 versus G2. Any thoughts on the potential matchup?

Cloud9 and G2, a big difference in how they approach the game. Cloud9 is very methodical and very slow. I don't think G2 is as crazy as Heroic is for example, but it's going to be very interesting this match. G2 is trying to find their form again, they were playing superb not too long ago, and Cloud9 is struggling a little bit with all the nonstop CS they've been playing. I don't think they talk about it too much, but I definitely think that Cloud9 is a little burnt out with all the things they are leaving in. So let's see how it goes and we'll be looking out to play any of them,

FalleN and the rest of Imperial will now be waiting for the conclusion of G2 and Cloud9's match, with the Brazilian side slated to face the winner of that game tomorrow at 10:00AM