Ever since FalleN announced his impending retirement, FURIA's 2026 season has been shrouded in uncertainty. This team, which rose to the top echelons of world rankings in 2025, is now attempting to have YEKINDAR take over IGL duties for some maps as they prepare for the post-FalleN era.
At BLAST Open Porto, we sat down with YEKINDAR to talk about IGL trials, his attitude toward the role, and FURIA's future direction.
Q：The start of this season has been quite up and down, how are you feeling now?
YEKINDAR: The BLAST Bounty was a minor setback for us, though it happened to many teams. In that match, we wanted to test Cache through a BO3 to assess our level on this map, and it revealed many areas we need to improve. As for EWC, we had numerous advantageous situations to win against FUT, but they played better that day and deserved the result. These matches helped us see our issues more clearly, such as Dust2 being a real challenge for us. We have now adjusted our map pool by adding Ancient, and Dust2 will be a key focus moving forward. Our mindset is that getting stronger in the second half of the season is only beneficial for us.
Q: Many are saying that winning a championship before FalleN retires at the end of the year would be ideal. Does this put additional psychological pressure on the team?
YEKINDAR: We don't feel we must win just because FalleN is retiring. Instead, we've always seen ourselves as a championship contender, so finishing third, fourth, or even second isn't enough. We believe we can win, and the pressure is mostly self-imposed. We're working on solving our issues, but the biggest source of pressure is actually the future. We have a plan, but we haven't yet found someone to replace FalleN. Once you know this is eventually going to happen, you can't help but think about it.
Q: Do the lost matches add to your own pressure?
YEKINDAR: No, those days the opponents were indeed better than us. Right now, with the MR12 format, pistol rounds are crucial, but we've been losing too many of them lately, so we're always playing from behind in every match, trying to catch up. If we went back to MR15, I think not just us, but the professional scene and top teams would all benefit, because MR15 is more stable.
Q: You mentioned recently that you're trying your hand at conducting, but it doesn't seem like something you're particularly keen on. Would you rule out this possibility?
YEKINDAR: I will continue to call on some maps, but the hardest part is overcoming my own "ego." I still believe I am an excellent role player who knows what value I can bring as a secondary caller. If I switch to being the main caller, I would lose these strengths, and there's also uncertainty in my ability to perform as a caller. So overcoming my ego is difficult, and perhaps now isn't the right time for it. But the future is unpredictable—we'll see how things go.
Q: You mentioned wanting to make plans for the end of the year. Does FURIA's alternative candidate have to be Brazilian, or is the scope broader?
YEKINDAR: The best-case scenario would be, of course, Brazilians, but it's tough. Many of the top ten teams in the world have international rosters, and that's why. Our preference is to find the person who best fits our role requirements. This is still under consideration.