Considering the Esports World Cup is set in Saudi Arabia, it’s perhaps not a massive surprise that home organisation Team Falcons is looking to defend its title as champion by signing and securing some of the best talents and rosters around the world. It has even done this in the Counter-Strike 2 space, as the organisation has roped together a squad that seems to always just fall short of the unstoppable Team Vitality, being defeated by the French side at IEM Dallas, BLAST Rivals Spring 2025, and IEM Melbourne this year, all while securing a trophy at PGL Bucharest in April after defeating G2 Esports in the final.
The question is whether Team Falcons can get over the line at the two upcoming big events, as IEM Cologne is happening in a month and will be followed by the EWC event, where Team Falcons will want to be the victor without question.
To ensure it’s putting its best foot forward, the organisation has now announced the benching of a core player and the signing of a replacement, as Emil “Magisk” Reif has been sent to the inactive slot while Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin has been acquired from Team Spirit Academy to fill his space on the team.
As for the reason behind this roster change, all that Team Falcons has stated is that Magisk has been “crucial” to their success and that they will help him “seek a new path after this offseason.”
Do you think this is a good move for Team Falcons?