Emil “Magisk” Reif has been removed from Falcons’ active roster with immediate effect, the Saudi organisation has revealed on Monday.
It’s expected that Danny “zonic” Sørensen and company will announce the signing of Spirit’s prodigy Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin as a replacement for Magisk.
Today’s news confirms a previous report by Guillaume “neL” Rathier, stating that the Danish rifler was to be cut to make room for kyousuke.
In a statement, Falcons thanks Magisk for his service:
– Magisk has brought many memorable moments and helped us win our first CS2 trophy in Bucharest.He was also crucial to making the finals of IEM Melbourne, PGL Cluj-Napoca, and BLAST Rivals S1. We thank him for his dedication to the team as we seek a new path after this offseason.
Tough spell
Emil “Magisk” Reif joined Falcons in late 2023 as the first player signed under coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen, marking the beginning of the Saudi-backed project to build a new Counter-Strike powerhouse. Expectations were high, but the early days of the roster were plagued by inconsistency and underperformance.
Despite a star-studded lineup on paper, the team failed to break into the elite, and 2024 ended in disappointment, with Falcons missing out on both the Copenhagen and Shanghai Majors.
It wasn’t until 2025, after the high-profile additions of m0NESY and NiKo, that Falcons began to show real promise. But by that point, Magisk’s role in the lineup had diminished, ultimately leading to his benching after nearly two years with the team.
Current roster
That leaves Falcons with the following squad:
- Nikola “NiKo” Kovač
- Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski
- René “TeSeS” Madsen
- Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov
- Danny “zonic” Sørensen (coach)
- Abdul “degster” Gasanov (benched)
- Emil “Magisk” Reif (benched)
