Yekindar: FalleN’s retirement puts duty on players
At the StarSeries Fall media day, Mareks Yekindar said FalleN’s planned retirement has placed responsibility on each FURIA player to improve as the team repairs form and rebuilds chemistry.
Mareks Yekindar, known as YEKINDAR, spoke at the StarSeries Fall media day. He said Gabriel FalleN Toledo’s planned retirement has placed responsibility on each FURIA player to improve as the team works to repair form and rebuild chemistry. The roster is addressing problems one by one rather than chasing immediate titles.
Yekindar described FURIA’s 2026 season as difficult. The team reached grand finals at IEM Krakow and the IEM Cologne Major but did not win those events. He pointed to a heavy event schedule, travel, fatigue and recent losses in China as factors affecting results.
The player said the squad is taking an internal, accountable approach. After the loss in China, players met and concluded ‘we’re just failing as a team right now.’ The discussions focused on concrete fixes and on raising work ethic.
Yekindar added that locker-room talks have been direct. ‘Guys, we know FalleN is going to be retiring; we know we’re playing bad right now. How can we fix it?’ he said, describing a push for individual responsibility rather than formal interventions.
The team has used matches against rising squads such as Legacy and MIBR to gather tactical information. Yekindar noted playing the same opponents multiple times helps the roster prepare for larger events, including the upcoming Major as FalleN approaches retirement.
On mental preparation, Yekindar said FURIA does not run routine psychologist sessions about the retirement. Instead, players aim to maintain personal standards and trust one another to manage pressure and focus on the next match and tournament.
He commented on the StarSeries Fall format, noting the consolidation final and grand final are scheduled on the same day and the studio setups place teams closer to one another. Yekindar described the variation as ‘a fresh bit of air’ and said an eight-team event is an appropriate setting to try different formats.
Background: FalleN is a veteran captain and AWPer who announced plans to retire. FURIA had a series of deep runs late in 2025 but had not captured a title in 2026 at the time of the media day.
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