Falcons are trying to get back on the horse after failing to carry momentum from their IEM Cologne Major victory into the Fall season, where they have thus far faltered to 100 Thieves online in BLAST Bounty Season 2 and gone out in the quarter-finals of the Esports World Cup after a loss to Legacy.
Things also almost went awry in Falcons’ BLAST Open Porto opening matchup against Lynn Vision, needing a comeback from 2-9 down on the Dust2 decider to scrape a victory.
“We are unfortunately at a point where we still get a bit too easily frustrated playing against them, where I’m sure it wouldn’t happen against some of the top teams that we face, and there we have to do better,” Danny “zonic” Sørensen told HLTV after the match when asked about struggling against lower-ranked teams. “This is something that we will have to work on.”
The Dane also spoke about Falcons’ unsteady start to the season, saying he “wouldn’t call it [a hangover]” from winning the Major, but admitted that the team is still working to find its footing with Finn “karrigan” Andersen and hinted at players needing to find new motivation after winning the Major.
You got through it, but that was probably not the way you wanted that series to go. What are your thoughts right now?
I think it has obviously been a talking point from us within the camp lately that we, and also historically, can have some issues against these types of teams. To be honest I’m actually happy, because I know how we can react in these situations, and it was a step in the right direction that we at least could come back from it because I don’t look too much about the opponent.
Of course there’s a lot of things to take away that we need to improve, but I could also see that today was not the day where things were sharp on our side. Individuals, communication, you name it, but it was good to see, mentality-wise, that we could come back from a very tough game.
What do you think it is about these types of teams? Is it play style, is it the stature of the team? What is it that causes you problems?
I think it’s hard to pinpoint. I guess against some teams definitely play style as well, some of the teams that really don’t respect the name value that we bring to the server. Props to them. But I think it’s also a little bit about the mindset that we’re having.
We are unfortunately at a point where we still get a bit too easily frustrated playing against them, where I’m sure it wouldn’t happen against some of the top teams that we face, and there we have to do better. This is something that we will have to work on. Usually we always take TeamSpeak when we are playing and re-watching the games, but maybe we actually need a little bit of cam as well this time around.
They can be super annoying to play against and they are definitely not afraid of my players, unfortunately
Legacy next up, chance for an immediate bit of revenge. How do you feel about that matchup?
I think, yes, again, if you look on paper, this should be a revenge [match]. Now it’s going to be a third time’s the charm, hopefully. I will say this: they are playing really good CS, to be honest. They can be super annoying to play against, but they are also on the same page, and they are definitely not afraid of my players, unfortunately. But we have a score to settle, and we had a good talk at Esports World Cup. We’ll take it from there.
You say you had a talk after EWC. I imagine you’ve now had a bit of time to reflect on that loss to Legacy; are you confident you can put it right?
Of course I am. It would be a disaster to have won the Major and done pretty well, coming from three grand finals in a row. I know it’s been a slow start to the season, to put it mildly, but of course we are confident. It doesn’t matter; we just need to show the best version of Falcons and acknowledge that we are going up against a very good team, as I said before.
I think a lot of people might point to a sort of hangover from the Major victory, but what do you put the slow start to the season down to?
It’s something that we have talked a little bit about. Some of the players, namely one player obviously, but also the entire team, have been hunting this Major for a long time, and it’s a new chapter in a lot of the players’ careers. Also, for a guy like Maksim [kyousuke], he probably didn’t expect that he would win a Major at this age. I believe very much that you need to find what motivates the players, both on an individual level and also as a team. This is something that always worked.
I wouldn’t call it hungover. We were very keen on doing really well at EWC. For us, it’s a very big tournament, not just for the team, but also for the organization. And it’s… I wouldn’t say an unacceptable start to the season, but it’s definitely a bit disappointing coming from last season in Cologne. But again, we’re in some ways still a new team with a lot of things to still get implemented.
