The Importance of FalleN and MiBR in the CSGO Scene
South American CSGO is one of the most important scenes in the game. There is one team that made this work and that is FalleN’s SK turned MiBR.
The Importance of FalleN and MiBR in the CSGO Scene
South American CSGO is one of the most important scenes in the game. There is one team that made this work and that is Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo’s SK Gaming turned MiBR. They have since made their mark, not only on CSGO, but the entire esports scene as well.
Nowadays, South American esports is known for their passion and wild playstyle in any esports title. However, CSGO was the pioneer for the modern era of SA esports and you can attribute the contributions of FalleN and the rest of his former team.
They were the catalysts of the scene’s growth and it was a treat for CSGO fans in 2016. Let us dive in about SA CS and how it became the benchmark for an entire region’s presence in esports.
Humble beginnings
FalleN started his career in CS 1.6 where he proved to be the next great AWPer. The first player of that nature was Raphael ‘cogu’ Camargo who was a legend of CS 1.6 scene. Brazilians were good during the CS 1.6 days but they were not as prolific as the North Americans and most especially the Swedes.
If you are familiar with the CS scene, Swedes like Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg and Emil ‘HeatoN’ Christensen are usually the top players in the game. Players from Poland were at the same level as well with arguably the best player in 1.6 history in Filip ‘NEO’ Kubski.
Brazil was an under the radar country when it first came into the CS scene. With players like cogu leading the way but they were unable to secure big titles as the Swedes did. Even NA was a strong force back then because of their prowess with their aggression and their chaotic style.
FalleN was the last star from Brazil in 1.6 but his peak came at the wrong time. All of the other Brazilians were on the decline which was a shame because people saw FalleN’s prime was wasted during that era. However, they can never expect what was to come for South American CS.
He was the only star player to appear from the Brazilian scene at that time. He had some stints with small North American teams which strengthened his position among the English-speaking scene. This will prove to be important in the future when FalleN and the rest of the scene joins big events. However, their big chance at glory would come in late 2015 which was well into the CSGO era.
Why is FalleN considered the Godfather of Brazilian CS?
For the most part, FalleN was the only remaining player from a bygone era. He was a player who reached his peak back in 1.6 but he never got the attention that deserved. FalleN never gave up on strengthening the scene as he established the Games Academy in 2012.
GA is an organization that focuses on helping players improve their skills in a particular game. FalleN’s focus was to help young players improve their skills in CS and then possibly turn them into pro players. There were even some offers that led people to get free CSGO skins so they can be enticed to get better at the game. It was a helpful venture for the scene and FalleN became a favourite among the fans to the point that he is known as the godfather of their scene.
FalleN created content for his countrymen to serve as guides to improve. He did this while he was still playing as a CSGO pro which shows his dedication to the scene and its growth towards becoming a superpower in the CSGO scene just like Sweden and France.
But FalleN will experience the peak of his career when he joined Luminosity Gaming as the in-game leader and he recruited players from around the scene. LG was an underdog team in its first few months but it took a roster change for the team to reach the top level of CSGO.
This is when the core of FalleN, Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga and Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David, was joined by three people from GA. These were Lincoln ‘fnx’ Lau, Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo and their new coach Wilton ‘zews’ Prado.
This was a team that did not make the headlines at all but they shocked the world in their very first event which was the FACEIT 2015 Stage 3 Finals where they upset stronger teams en route to their loss in the final against Fnatic. However, that was just the start of a new era of CSGO as it would come to be known as the era of South American CS.
The FalleN era of CSGO
No one expected that FalleN and his LG team would win events at that point in 2015. However, they managed to provide so much for the scene as they brought innovative strategies and a new style to the scene.
While teams had niche strats around the AWP, FalleN wanted to put an emphasis on using the sniper rifle as the fulcrum of their team. Since he was the primary AWPer, FalleN was the lynchpin for the squad and his efforts did not go unnoticed. However, this led to their star player coldzera growing at an alarming rate, turning into arguably the best player in the world in 2016.
This was because FalleN and zews’ tactics to amplify all of their players’ tactics. Coldzera grew into his own as the primary rifler but he was also a secondary AWPer in FalleN’s system. This double AWP setup was the key to their success that started in 2016.
The true start to the FalleN era was MLG Columbus 2016 when LG came as a strong team. However, they were not known as the favourites because of the other teams in the event like Natus Vincere and Ninjas in Pyjamas.
LG shocked the world yet again by winning the event in dominant fashion, beating Na’Vi in the final. This was an eye-opener for the CSGO scene as they never saw a South American team win a big event in the past. However, when you look back at CS 1.6, they did have some legitimacy during the era of cogu. The only remnant of that scene was FalleN and he led this team to glory by making a great impact on the rest of the scene with his GA system.
The team would continue with the same lineup but they left the LG banner to join SK Gaming which is the team that remains iconic now. SK won back-to-back Majors as they won ESL One Cologne 2016 as well. They were a squad that helped win so many free CSGO skins for fans around the world as they were always the underdog. But after their showing at Cologne, they were never considered as such anymore.
They secured the title of being the best team in the world during that year beating the likes of Na’Vi and Team Liquid who coincidentally had Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev who was the SK’s primary rival through the years.
SK would go through some roster changes but FalleN and fer were always the mainstays. They would leave the SK banner as well which led to the revival of Made in Brazil or MiBR. This was the last team that had the former SK lineup as they parted ways eventually in 2019-20 when almost all of the players left the org and went their separate ways.
Coldzera went to Europe to play for FaZe Clan, TACO did the same but he joined up with GODSENT. However, the biggest change was FalleN moving up north to join Team Liquid.
A large part of why FalleN decided to leave was that his teammates were kicked from the team, particularly fer and TACO.
He addressed his departure by saying, ‘I'm not satisfied with the recent decision… This time will be necessary to find my essence and return the peace I need to decide my path, while I accomplish my contractual obligations. The only thing I'm sure is this isn't where the game ends for me’.
What are the effects of the FalleN era?
Without FalleN and the rest of his MiBR teammates, the South American scene would have remained undervalued. These days, it is one of the regions that are seen as talent hubs and you can be sure that a prodigy like coldzera will be there.
While SA is underperforming as of late, it is a matter of time before Brazilian or even Peruvian teams will step as the next big squads in the CSGO pro scene. There are countries that always dominate the CS scene like Sweden, France and Poland serving as hubs for esports titles. However, Brazil and the rest of South America has proven to be a valuable place for talent when it comes to their star power.
CSGO is not the only esports game that has experienced this as Dota 2, League of Legends and many more games have felt the impact of FalleN and the rest of the MiBR squad. When talking about the history of esports, it is important to remember that FalleN and the rest of the MiBR team are influential to the point that they have made an impact on the world of esports.
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Words: Pocholo Magsino
