FalleN on NA's decline: "It's just sad"

In ESL's podcast episode IEM Cologne Major Stage 3 Roundtable, FURIA 's Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo and Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis commented on the state of North American Counter-Strike.

Having been on Liquid for two years, YEKINDAR noted the exodus of NA players to both VALORANT esports and the European Counter-Strike scene. The Latvian rifler says of the region's decline, "It's very bad for the whole community."

A veteran of both Complexity and Liquid, 35-year-old FalleN chimed in, "Back in the days, because we had this Australian, Brazilian, and North American community all together, it made the pool much stronger." He references the impact of COVID, and that, despite the modest presence of leaders like Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella, the scene has not produced much new talent in recent years: "It's just sad."

The Brazilian IGL mentions NRG's horrific loss to BIG at IEM Cologne, and commentator Mohan "launders" Govindasamy concludes, "We have no one to blame. We used Brazil to help give us some slots, and then we used those slots, and we didn't make more slots."

With their NA days behind them, FalleN and YEKINDAR remind us of what the region once was, as FalleN wishes, "I hope that at some point, NA is going to catch up."