YEKINDAR steps back from IGL duties; FalleN retakes calls

After FURIA’s win over MIBR at StarSeries Fall, Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis revealed in a post-match interview with James “BanKs” Banks that he has stepped back from in-game leadership and hopes not to return to the role. Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo resumed most tactical responsibilities.

FURIA tested YEKINDAR as a caller to prepare for FalleN’s planned retirement at the end of the year. The trial put the Latvian in the caller role on Terrorist sides of Anubis, Cache and Ancient to assess his comfort and effectiveness under strategic pressure.

In the interview YEKINDAR said, “Credit where it’s due: I’m not calling anymore, and hopefully I’m not going to be anymore in the future.” He described the experiment as a way to find out whether calling was something he wanted to pursue and whether the team needed him in that position.

YEKINDAR explained the role proved stressful for him: “I came to the conclusion that this is too much cortisol, I don’t want to IGL,” and he asked FalleN to take the maps back. FalleN agreed to resume those responsibilities.

On the possibility of occasional calls, YEKINDAR added, “Well, sometimes, when you feel it, maybe I would call something. But most of the time, when it’s the hard situations, it’s always FalleN.” He described the split as FalleN providing the broad tactical ideas while YEKINDAR contributes micro-adjustments and helps implement plans.

With FalleN returning as the primary in-game leader, FURIA will enter upcoming events with the veteran caller directing main strategies and YEKINDAR serving as a supporting voice and occasional caller when needed.

Follow the latest CS2 developments and visit our CS2 skin market to see what is currently available.