FalleN to miss ESL Pro League Season 23 playoffs

FURIA in-game leader Gabriel ‘FalleN‘ Toledo has revealed that he will miss the ESL Pro League Season 23 playoffs if the team advances from Stage 2 of the Counter-Strike 2 event.

FalleN revealed that he has a personal commitment that clashes with the final stage of the Tier 1 event taking place from March 13th to 15th at Stockholm’s Annexet.

FalleN confirmed the news during a recent MADHOUSE TV live stream covering the ESL Pro League in Brazil. As a result of FalleN missing the playoffs, FURIA’s coach Sid ‘sidde‘ Macedo will fill the gap if the team qualifies.

The news is frustrating for FURIA fans, with the organisation having an excellent opportunity to lift its first Tier 1 trophy of the 2026 season. With Team Vitality and Team Falcons choosing not to attend, and Parivision failing to advance from Stage 1, FURIA heads into Stage 2 as the highest-ranked team.

“I think only once that I’ve gone through something similar, where I put a personal commitment above a work commitment or with a team commitment,” said FalleN during the stream.

“Unfortunately, if we make it to the playoffs of this Pro League, I’ll need to do it again. I have a personal commitment that is very important to me in Brazil on the same date.”

While he won’t be competing if FURIA makes it to the playoffs, the Brazilian veteran expressed his excitement surrounding the prospect of seeing sidde in action. “It will be cool to see sidde representing and helping the team the way I usually do. Not just with shots, but with a lot of organisation, a great atmosphere, and sacrifice for the team. Sidde is fully capable of doing this very well.”

FURIA’s tournament begins with a first-round match against B8 today (March 6th), with FalleN and the rest of the team looking to start Stage 2 with a victory.

With FalleN continuing to compete during the online matches, the team has a strong chance of advancing to the last eight, where sidde will take his place.

This isn’t the first instance of a coach filling in for a high-profile tournament. In July 2025, the Chinese sideTYLOO won FISSURE Playground 1 after competing in the group stage and making it to the semi-finals with its coach in the starting line-up.