snow: "It means a lot for me to beat FalleN. He's my idol"

João "snow" Vinicius and paiN overcome FURIA, and most importantly, Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo last night to advance to the semifinals of the BLAST.tv Austin Major. It was the first time two Brazilian teams faced one another in the playoffs of a Major, and the new generation took down FalleN, Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato, and Yuri "yuurih" Santos.

For snow, beating FalleN was like a dream coming true, as the Godfather of Brazilian CS took him under his wings years ago and taught him and other kids the basics. An old photo of FalleN and snow has even gone viral these last few days ahead of the quarterfinals.

Dust2.us' Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore talked briefly to snow after their historic win over FalleN and FURIA last night. You can watch the full interview below on YouTube, or read the transcription underneath.

All questions and answers were slightly edited for clarity.

How are you feeling after beating FalleN and FURIA? Now you're in the top four in your first Major playoffs.

Yeah, it's an amazing feeling to be in this moment and win against a legend from Brazil, and win against this hard team. FURIA is a very good team, and we know that. I'm happy that we could come back after Nuke, as it was a bad map for us. It was our pick, and it was a tough map, but we had the resilience to come back, and I'm very happy to be in the semifinals of a Major.

And especially, beating FalleN, someone who was your teacher when you were 12 or 13 years old. He's probably the most responsible for putting Brazilian CS where it is today. As someone who's so new to tier-one play, what does that achievement mean for you on a personal level, to beat the godfather of Brazil?

To be honest, it means a lot for me to beat FalleN. He's my idol. For Brazil, he's a legend, and for Counter-Strike, he's a legend. Bro, I'm very happy, and I'm realizing a dream beating him and the guys from FURIA, also. The guys from FURIA are very good players. It's very good to beat him in the arena in my first Major playoffs.

How was the crowd for your first Major playoff match? Were you able to hear it through the headphones? Was it present for you throughout that whole series?

Yeah, I was a bit nervous on the first map, but I think this is normal. I'm a young guy and these are new things for me, you know? On the second and third maps, I could just chill and play my own game and to...win the rounds and shout 'Let's go guys, vamo caralho.'

Oh yeah, 'vamo caralho,' your famous phrase, right?

[blinks] Yeah, bro! This is my phrase, and [everyone in] the team likes that, [everyone] is like that. I love that, bro.

I think everyone on paiN was responsible for the win today, but of all the players, I think we'd have to give a lot of kudos to nqz, who had an absolutely incredible series on the AWP. So many pivotable plays, so many multikills. Tell me about his performance, and getting to play alongside him in this important match.

Bro, nqz is a very good AWPer. For me, he's the best AWPer. He's my teammate, he's my brother, and my friend. And, he played so well. I'm very happy that the team had this performance. [Everyone] in the team deserves that. We deserve to be in this phase of the Major, and we want more.

biguzera told us on Media Day that whichever Brazilian team won the series would be in the finals. Do you believe that, now that you have this incredible win under your belt?

Yeah, for sure. I hope the team that wins today becomes Major champions. It has to be us.

What would it mean for you to win your Major in your first Major playoffs?

Bro, it [would] mean a lot. It's insane to be here, it's insane to be in the arena, it's so loud there. I'm very happy, and it's my dream. This is it.