Year in review: A tough year for Falcons
We're coming to the end of 2024 now, so we thought it would be a good idea to turn back the clock and look back on the years of all the BLAST Premier teams.
Next up is Falcons. An organisation that had originally planned to take over in 2024, it didn't quite pan out that way, and despite putting together a roster that had tasted success in 2023, now goes into 2025 with just one player remaining.
Let's take a look at how Falcons went from five players to one, and why 2025 might be more of the same for them.
The first season
2024 began well for Falcons. Although they missed out on qualification for BLAST Premier Spring Final, they managed to make it to the quarter-finals of IEM Katowice, a strong result that showed plenty of promise for their new roster.
Unfortunately, it came crashing down soon after, and the team was eliminated was eliminated from the RMR for the PGL Major Copenhagen with a 1-3 record.
The elimination sparked their first roster move of the year, BOROS was removed as it was revealed he changed many of his settings right before the RMR after a strong Katowice.
Photo: Michal KonkolWhile Falcons looked for a replacement, s1mple arrived on loan to help the team during BLAST Premier Spring Showdown. Another disappointing tournament, they lost 2-1 to Swedish underdogs Metizport in the opening round.
s1mple's loan came to an end, but a permanent fifth was found not long after. In came the experienced dupreeh, but the five-time Major winner could not bring with him the same level of success he had experienced earlier in his career.
There were playoff finishes before the end of the first season, a top four at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade #1 and a second place finish at ESL Challenger Jonkoping, but not enough to satisfy the ambitions of Falcons or their coach, zonic.
Photo: Michal KonkolThe second season
The second season didn't begin with the same level of success as the first. Once again, Falcons failed to qualify from a BLAST Premier Groups, and they followed that up with a 9th-12th place exit from IEM Cologne.
The displeasure within the roster was beginning to show in interviews, with it becoming ever more clear that big changes would happen unless something was to suddenly click for them.
It looked like it may have at BLAST Premier Fall Showdown as they qualified for BLAST Premier Fall Final, but a disappointing run in the following tournaments including a last-place finish at Fall Final showed the organisation that there was still a lot of work to be done.
Fall Final was SunPayus' last tournament with the team, the AWPer had never managed to return to his previous ENCE form while a part of the Saudi organisation.
Photo: Michal KonkolHis replacement, arriving for his second loan spell with the team, was s1mple. But even the GOAT of CS couldn't help Falcons from going out with a whimper at their final two events of the year.
s1mple's second spell with the team began with a last-place finish at ESL Challenger Katowice, where the team lost to SAW and Eternal Fire.
It then came to a disastrous end at the RMR for the Perfect World Shanghai Major, where Falcons were once again eliminated from a Major RMR with a 1-3 record.
A result that summed up their struggles across the year, Maden, Snappi, and dupreeh were all benched following their exit, and s1mple also departed the roster.
Whether or not things will be trending upwards for Falcons in 2025 remains to be seen. The good news is that NiKo looks set to be on his way from G2, but a recent report from HLTV suggest that m0NESY won't be following him to the Saudi organisation.