After wearing the Falcons jersey for 1,5 years, Emil “Magisk” Reif was removed from the starting lineup yesterday.
In his place, the Saudi organisation brought in the super talent Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin from Spirit Academy.
The benching follows a long stretch of struggles for both Magisk individually and for Falcons as a team.
[post_preview url="https://pley.gg/falcons-confirm-magisk-benching/"]Three possible destinations
But what’s next for Magisk? Where should his next Counter-Strike adventure take him?
That’s what we’re exploring in this article, with three potential destinations for the 27-year-old rifler.
We’ve broken them into three categories: the obvious one, the risky one, and the nostalgic one
The most obvious one
Our first pick, and the most obvious one for us, is Liquid.
Although nothing has been confirmed yet, Liquid should be a team making one or more roster changes this off-season.
From the looks of things, Keith “NAF” Markovic may be on his way out after admitting his future on the team is up in the air.
NAF’s departure opens the door for Magisk, who could naturally take on the anchor role left by the Canadian.
While Liquid clearly has other problems — [read: the AWP position] — Magisk could bring energy, structure, and a much-needed breath of fresh air to a team in need of direction.
Financially, Liquid should be capable of securing a player of Magisk’s caliber, if they fancy him as their new anchor.
If Pley were in charge, Liquid would field the following lineup:
siuhy (IGL) Twistzz NertZ broky (AWP) Magisk
The risky one
A riskier, but still interesting move for Magisk would be a switch to another historic name: Fnatic.
Once a dominant force in CS, Fnatic have slipped out of the top tier in recent years. But on paper, they have a promising core in fear, MATYS, and jambo, backed by the firepower of blameF.
The weak link? Likely the legendary but ageing KRIMZ, who has been with Fnatic for what feels like a lifetime. At 31, it may finally be time for a change.
If Fnatic are willing to open the wallet, Magisk could be a fantastic replacement. He brings vital Tier 1 experience, a strong secondary voice, and rock-solid anchor play.
However, with all being said, it’s a valid question to ask if Magisk is willing to drop down to tier 2/3 to climb his way up again.
If Pley were in charge, Fnatic would field the following lineup:
Fear (IGL) jambo (AWP) MATYS blameF Magisk
The nostalgic one
Magisk returning to Astralis? As nostalgic it would be, as unrealistic it is.
It’s no secret that Astralis is facing major financial problems, and buying out Magisk from Falcons would likely be a stretch.
But just imagine Magisk back in an Astralis jersey. The perfect circle. Exactly, Magisk was the one kick-starting Astralis’ dynasty back in the days, and now he can be the one to bring them back to the top of CS – or just help them to win a CCT Europe title. They’d probably be happy with that too.
Picking a player for Magisk to replace in Astralis is not that easy, taking roles and positions into consideration. But in this hypothetical game, we’ve opted to kick on from Martin “stavn” Lund to make room.
If Pley were in charge, Astralis would field the following lineup:
HooXi (IGL) Staehr jabbi device (AWP) Magisk
Honorable mentions for Magisk’s next team: FaZe and NAVI
Interview with dupreeh talking about Magisk and roster changes in Falcons:
[post_preview url="https://pley.gg/rifle-prodigy-kyousuke-officially-joins-falcons/"][post_preview url="https://pley.gg/magisk-reacts-to-falcons-benching/"]
