by G2 Esports eliminated Team Falcons from Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025 on Sunday, February 2, with a close 2-1 victory in the Group A lower-bracket quarterfinals of the Counter-Strike 2 event.
The game started well for the Falcons, who took a 7-5 lead on the first map, Ancient, but they failed to capitalise on their strong start and managed just two rounds on CT-Side, allowing G2 Esports to take an early series lead.
Facing the prospect of another 0-2 loss, Abdulkhalik “degster” Gasanov and Emil “Magisk” Reif stepped up on Dust2, posting respective performance ratings of 1.89 and 1.53 as the Falcons tied the game at 1-1.
The decider, Mirage, was a fierce battle, with the Falcons starting strong again and picking up an 8-4 lead on T-Side before the switch.
G2 Esports, however, showed their attacking prowess and picked up six of the next eight rounds, levelling the score at 10-10.
A-Site rush proved inefficient for G2 Esports in the 21st round, allowing the Falcons to take over the lead once more.
That would be the final time Nikola “NiKo” Kovac and co. were in front, however, as G2 swiftly closed out the map to clinch the series.
G2 Esports’ newest signing, Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko, was the best player on his team, with a 1.11 performance rating average.
,,This is not real face of us." – NiKo #IEM pic.twitter.com/UfoaQw5qW1
— Falcons Esports (@FalconsEsport) February 2, 2025
That was only the third-highest rating in the series, however, as Degster (1.29) and Magisk (1.16) led the way.
NiKo was positive against his former team at 1.05, slightly ahead of René “TeSeS” Madsen (1.01).
The Falcons’ in-game leader, Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski, struggled to carry his weight, posting a 0.76 rating and 25-41 KD.
The unfortunate loss means it is a third consecutive early elimination from a big event for Team Falcons, and the second since overhauling their Counter-Strike roster in January.
Nevertheless, the Saudi squad showed glimpses of improvement and will have a chance to build on that at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025, which kicks off on Friday, February 14.
While Team Falcons’ Counter-Strike 2 team struggles, their Dota 2 division won their seventh Tier 1 trophy later the same day at FISSURE PLAYGROUND #1.
