Twistzz rejected Falcons: I don’t want to be affiliated with that stuff at all

Saudi involvement in Counter-Strike is not a possibility. It’s a reality.

In recent years, we’ve seen ESL and FACEIT being acquired by Savvy Gaming Group, a company owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. We have also witnessed Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman announcing an Esports World Cup in Riyadh in 2024.

And then there is Falcons.

Because in early October this year, heavy rumours began to circulate stating that Falcons were aiming to build a new super team, consisting of some of the most profiled names in Counter-Strike.

The Saudi team – now led by the five-time Major winning coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen – had allegedly set their sight on Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, Nikola “NiKo” Kovac and Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, initially.

“I have morals and it’s not about the money”

The G2 star, NiKo, announced earlier this month that he was going to stay at G2 despite the rumours. In an interview with Pley.gg before the start of BLAST Premier Fall Finals, Twistzz” confirmed that Falcons had approached him as well, but that he turned the project down.

- I guess I can say that publicly. Yeah. I mean it wasn’t really an offer, they just contacted me but I turned it down fast. Because if it was about the money then… obviously, if I wanted the bag and I didn’t care about my career then I would go to Falcons. But I do care about my career. I have morals and it’s not about the money, Twistzz says.

Twistzz has joined a debate that many other pro players haven't touched (Picture credit: BLAST and Michal Konkol)

"I don't want to be affiliated with that stuff at all"

When asked to elaborate, Twistzz also highlights that Falcons neither holds an ESL or BLAST partner spot.

- Well, I can just put in perspective for the whole community; you go to Falcons, you have no partner spots, and you have to qualify for everything, which you could say is the privilege that these partner teams have. These big events make a big difference when it comes to Valve’s ranking, and obviously in 2025 that’s going to be the main leaderboard.

- But mainly for me it’s morals. Money is not the incentive for me. I mean you can say whatever you want but I just don’t want to be affiliated with that stuff at all.

What is your take on Falcons’ and Saudi’s involvement in Counter-Strike?

- I won’t answer this question.

But you don’t think you have your morals right if you go to Falcons?

- In my opinion, yeah. Everyone has their own morals and what they consider ethical right, and for me, I cannot imagine this move ever. Even talking to you about it and thinking about it, I cannot. Picturing that, it’s not good for me.

What do you think if there will be a future where Saudi gets more and more teams at the top of Counter-Strike?

- I mean if you mean Saudi orgs… I think Saudi involvement is inevitable at this point. I mean you see it everywhere now in sports and esports, so if it’s happening, it’s happening. Other than that, there’s not much to say.

You can find the entire interview with Twistzz down below, where he also touches on FaZe's strong start in CS2, his motivation for the future and more.