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January 24, 2026 | Alexander Saraff

Falcons eliminate reigning Major champions from Bounty with a stand-in

Despite being obliterated on their map pick, Falcons took out Vitality on Inferno and Mirage, no less.

Despite being obliterated on their map pick, Falcons took out Vitality on Inferno and Mirage, no less.

Nikola “NiKo” Kovac and Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov are back on their BS, as they defeated the world number one alongside an academy player.

They were both fantastic in shutting down Vitality on two of their best maps in the pool.

The series kicked off on Inferno, where it was m0NESY carrying Falcons’ CT side.

Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut was quiet, struggling as usual in the first event of the season. Falcons took map one with the help of NiKo, and ZywOo only came online in the second map.

Falcons gambled on an Anubis pick that completely backfired. They managed only 4 rounds on a map where Vitality rolled on their T side.

On Mirage, Falcons returned the favor with NiKo carrying a 11-1 first half. He top-fragged and once again brought his best form playing with a stand-in.

Falcons with an academy player are in the Grand Final of the BLAST Bounty.

Author

Alexander Saraff

Read more about me

I'm an aspiring journalist in the world of esports. I first got into MOBAs watching SMITE in 2015, and got hooked on CS from the MLG Columbus Major.

My goal as a journalist in this space is to tell the esports stories that will live on in history, and give insight into the stories behind the scenes when they're relevant.

Besides that, I have a bachelor's in philosophy and have an interest in German thinkers from the 18th-19th century.

Read more about me