After going down on their map pick, Falcons turned it around in Mirage and Ancient beating MOUZ to book their spot in the playoffs on PGL Cluj-Napoca.
VETO
- Falcons removed Inferno
- MOUZ removed Anubis
- Falcons picked Dust2
- MOUZ picked Mirage
- MOUZ removed Train
- Falcons removed Nuke
- Ancient was left over
Map 1: Dust 2; Pick: Falcons; Winner: MOUZ
Having secured good victories on the map, the Falcons faced a rough start as MOUZ dominated them early in the half to kick off the series. Struggling to keep up, Falcons pulled in 4 rounds in the first half hoping for a comeback in the second. Despite starting the second map with a pistol-round victory, MOUZ closed the door on a Falcons comeback as early as the first gun round. Having failed to stop their offense, the Falcons had no choice but to lose the map with a one-sided scoreline of 13-8.
Map 2: Mirage; Pick: MOUZ; Winner: Falcons
Building upon their momentum from the first map, MOUZ found themselves 6-1 up at one point before Falcons could do anything. Despite taking a beating early on, Falcons recovered the half, pulling in 5 rounds on their defence before moving to the T side with a 7-5 scoreline. MOUZ extended their lead further with a 9-5 scoreline before Falcons could get on the board but once they did, they ran a smooth and dynamic T side. Off the back of some good calls and individual brilliance, Falcons won a streak of rounds to come back from a deficit and take the series to a third map.
Map 3: Ancient; Pick: Decider; Winner: Falcons
Despite Ancient being their worst map, Falcons started the map with a bang as MOUZ had no answer to their stellar offence. Falcons went 8-0 up before MOUZ could win a round but closed the map losing two more with a 10-8 deficit. Second half started with a pistol-round win for MOUZ that helped close the gap but the lead was too much for them to surmount as Falcons somehow managed to close the series with a 13-8 scoreline.
Despite critiques doubting them, NiKo’s impact on Falcons has been readily apparent and the improvements may be slow but they are there. Game by game, they are taking down bigger and bigger names with time, this may turn into something promising.
