Falcons’ comeback reshapes the playoff picture at a premier CS:GO event and highlights kyousuke’s emergence as a top‑tier AWP talent, influencing roster valuations across the scene.
The PGL Cluj‑Napoca group stage has been a testing ground for emerging talent, and the Falcons’ upset over FURIA underscores how a single player can tilt the balance. kyousuke’s 21‑4 first‑half K/D on Inferno, coupled with a 162.8 ADR, not only broke his own 2025 slump on the map but also forced analysts to reassess his market value. His aggressive positioning and clutch 1v1s set a new benchmark for AWP play, prompting other teams to scout similar high‑impact styles.
Beyond individual brilliance, the match illustrates strategic adaptability in modern CS:GO. After a shaky Mirage start, Falcons leveraged disciplined pistol rounds and coordinated mid‑control on Anubis, allowing m0NESY’s firepower to flourish. The synergy between kyousuke’s long‑range dominance and m0NESY’s rifling created a dual‑threat engine that FURIA struggled to contain, highlighting the growing importance of balanced AWP‑rifle duos in high‑stakes brackets.
For the broader tournament narrative, the win reshapes the playoff bracket, inserting a revitalized Falcons squad into contention and disrupting FURIA’s previously unassailable record against them. This shift not only elevates the competitive stakes for the remaining groups but also signals to sponsors and investors that roster moves—like Falcons’ acquisition of kyousuke—can yield immediate ROI. As the playoffs approach, teams will likely study Falcons’ map‑specific adjustments, making this victory a case study in rapid tactical evolution at the elite level.
Falcons reverse‑sweep FURIA to reach PGL Cluj‑Napoca playoffs
Falcons have broken a four‑game losing skid to FURIA to make the playoffs at PGL Cluj‑Napoca, reverse‑sweeping the series with wins on Inferno (13‑4) and Anubis (13‑11) after fumbling their Mirage pick (14‑16).
Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo’s men have had Falcons’ number since going international and after the latter brought in Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin, including a best‑of‑five grand‑final victory at BLAST Rivals Season 2.
Inferno was the sole map that Falcons won in that series, but here it became the catalyst in their revival. kyousuke was in superlative form as he powered his team to victory, almost single‑handedly winning that map and topping the server again on the Anubis decider.
It was a battle of AWPers on Mirage, with Falcons making up for a lost pistol and conversion by winning six straight thanks largely to Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov’s efforts. FURIA tied the game at the break and regained control with another pistol win, but further multi‑kills from m0NESY and kyousuke kept the teams neck‑and‑neck as the map wore on.
A triple kill and 1v1 clutch by Danil “molodoy” Golubenko set FURIA on map point first, only for René “TeSeS” Madsen to find three with a Deagle to force overtime on a broken buy. That hard work came undone in the extra rounds, though, with Falcons looking flustered in a few uncoordinated executes and Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato grabbing an important quad‑kill to help seal victory.
kyousuke transcended from that moment, completely taking over on Inferno to lead Falcons’ near‑impenetrable defence. The Russian phenom had struggled on the map for much of 2025 but has seemingly found his stride in the new year, and that was on clear display in a monstrous first half.
He tallied multi‑kills in eight of those rounds, including four triple kills, and ended the 11‑1 half with a 21‑4 K‑D, 6‑1 opening‑duel record, 162.8 ADR, and 2.33 rating before Falcons sealed their victory shortly after the swap.
He picked up where he left off on Anubis, putting KSCERATO’s quad‑kill in the pistol to waste as Falcons won the force‑buy and went up 4‑1. Things started to go awry after FURIA won a 3v5 and FalleN followed that up by killing Nikola “NiKo” Kovač to prevent losing a 4v2, and the lead slipped away with FURIA ahead 6‑4 before Falcons evened the score at halftime.
Another lost pistol and conversion meant Falcons had to get the job done the hard way in the second half, but some excellent calling by Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski and multis from m0NESY and kyousuke made it possible. They were up 12‑9 after kyousuke found a gap to flank B in Middle, and managed to avoid overtime in round 24 thanks to him finding another opener to seal the victory.
| Player | K‑D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato | 55‑47 | –0.78 % | 79.5 | 67.6 % | 1.17 |
| Danil “molodoy” Golubenko | 46‑42 | +0.14 % | 65.5 | 76.1 % | 1.03 |
| Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo | 43‑45 | +0.18 % | 62.8 | 67.6 % | 1.01 |
| Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis | 38‑53 | –1.62 % | 59.3 | 60.6 % | 0.81 |
| Yuri “yuurih” Santos | 26‑53 | –2.83 % | 57.5 | 62.0 % | 0.72 |
| Player | K‑D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin | 68‑44 | +4.68 % | 96.8 | 77.5 % | 1.49 |
| Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov | 60‑35 | +2.38 % | 78.7 | 78.9 % | 1.28 |
| Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski | 39‑40 | +0.33 % | 72.9 | 70.4 % | 1.02 |
| Nikola “NiKo” Kovač | 36‑45 | –1.11 % | 56.7 | 70.4 % | 0.87 |
| René “TeSeS” Madsen | 36‑46 | –1.53 % | 53.9 | 74.6 % | 0.87 |
Images:



Comments
Want to join the conversation?
Loading comments...