In the first round of the EWC playoffs, FURIA battled through three maps to defeat Aurora 2-1 and advance to the quarterfinals. After the match, captain FalleN gave an interview, discussing the opponents, the team's goals, and an interesting tactical adjustment that had YEKINDAR temporarily take over as the in-game leader.
FalleN: "This was a very tough match, Aurora played very well, they have a group of excellent players with a promising future, for them this is just the beginning, and the quality of this matchup was very high."
Speaking about the match, FalleN mentioned that Aurora's playstyle had changed under their new in-game leader, but FURIA adjusted in time. "They play differently on offense than before, but I'm glad we were able to adapt to those changes and always believed we could win the match."
Looking ahead to the journey to come, FalleN made no secret of his hunger for the title. "We believe we can win every match. Right now there are six or seven teams around the world at the same level, and anyone has a chance to win the championship. What we need to do is take it one step at a time, with our focus on tomorrow's opponent, G2."
When asked whether his retirement plans had become a mental burden, FalleN firmly denied it: "I feel no pressure on my shoulders at all — if anything, my desire to win is even stronger. I just want to make sure I give it my all and enjoy the game, just like in 2023."
Apart from the official broadcast interview, FalleN also revealed an interesting detail during his call with Brazilian streamer Gaules — YEKINDAR was in charge of calling on the decider map, Ancient.
FalleN said with a smile: "We tried having him call on some maps. On Ancient he completely read the opponents and led the team to a comeback, it was insane. Maybe because of that, his aim was a bit off today."
This victory sends FURIA through to the quarterfinals, where they will face G2 next. As for FalleN, no matter how much time he has left, he clearly has no intention of stopping.