The Major MVP said after the win over Legacy that Falcons know their mistakes but repeat them, and that the team play more freely in practice than in officials.
Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov called Team Falcons‘ season since the Cologne Major “very frustrating” on BLAST’s broadcast after Thursday’s 2-0 win over Legacy at BLAST Rivals in Hong Kong. It is a blunt verdict from the player who was MVP when Falcons won that Major in June. They have not reached a final since.
Asked how the months after Cologne had felt for him personally, m0NESY did not soften it.
For me personally, it was very frustrating because you don’t want to always lose the same way. You don’t want to constantly play the same games, be on the same level. You want to be better all the time.
He added that he meant the team as much as himself. Falcons “just want to find the consistency”, he said.
“I think we know the issues”
The desk pushed him on whether Falcons can even tell what is going wrong, since their interviews keep describing the same problem. He rejected that.
I think we know the issues, I think we know the mistakes that we do. I think it’s just the problem is to not repeat them and be consistent with our game.
The gap, as he described it, is between practice and the matches that count.
I think we’re just more ready to take a lot of responsibilities on practice. We are ready to […] give straight up calls, […] players are more kind of free, but on officials you struggle to replicate it.
His best guess at the reason was “stress maybe”.
One question he could not answer at all. Falcons keep losing their own map pick while, by the desk’s numbers, no team is better on the opponent’s pick. “I have no idea. I swear to God. I cannot give an answer to this,” he said.
Six events, no final
The results back up the frustration. Since the 3-0 over FURIA in the Cologne final, Falcons have left six events without playing for the trophy:
| Event | Place | Last series |
|---|---|---|
| BLAST Bounty S2 Finals | Out in first match | 100 Thieves 2-1 |
| Esports World Cup | 5th-8th | Legacy 2-0 |
| BLAST Open Porto | 3rd-4th | Spirit 2-0 |
| ESL Pro League S24 | 5th-8th | Spirit 2-0 |
| Thunderpick World Championship | 4th | Aurora 2-1 (third-place match) |
| IEM Beijing | 7th-8th | NAVI 2-1 |
Hong Kong started the same way. Falcons lost all four pistol rounds in Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to Vitality, 13-10 on both maps. “Pistols, they matter a lot in CS,” m0NESY said. He felt Falcons “showed a very good level” in that series, but that Vitality “were stronger”.
Two days earlier he had told HLTV that “it’s hard for now to say that we are title contenders”. Asked about that line on the desk, he separated belief from evidence.
Inside yourself, you’re always title contender. But if you look from the outside perspective, […] how we play, you cannot say it. But you always believe.
Playoffs against his old team
He does expect more from the playoffs. “I think we are the team that can show […] much better CS in playoffs than in group stage for some reason. I don’t know why,” he said.
The first test is the quarter-final against G2 Esports on Friday 13 November, the team m0NESY and NiKo left for Falcons in 2025. The winner meets FURIA in Saturday’s semi-finals.
