Falcons arrived in Malta as the heavy favorite for the Thunderpick World Championship trophy. They took their first step toward it by sweeping Ninjas in Pyjamas in their opener. After the match, coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen spoke to HLTV about the team’s current struggles.
Why does this matter? Falcons need a trophy after a rough start to the Fall season. However, zonic says the focus stays on the process: fixing the CT sides, stabilizing the map pool, and solving the problems against the best teams.
A 2-0 Start Against NIP
In Malta, Falcons opened with a 2-0 win over NIP. The team needed overtime on Ancient and then played a more dominant game on Dust2. NIP came into the match after a hot period, with a new lineup and a new IGL.
zonic called it a “karrigan series” and described the win as a good one. He added that the team has worked a lot on Ancient and changed its approach there. Therefore, it was encouraging to see the adjustments help, even though a tough game on Ancient showed there is still room to improve.
Leadership Over Firepower for karrigan
Recent results have brought criticism toward karrigan, mainly about his individual level. However, zonic made the team’s position clear. According to him, Falcons never brought karrigan in for his firepower. They brought him in for leadership. The team still wants to help him gain one or two percent individually, but zonic does not see this as an alarm.
Furthermore, zonic believes people overlook what karrigan adds. He says the IGL brings five to ten percent extra to other players, especially kyousuke, when things go well. As for the rest of the squad, zonic feels the firepower is there. Meanwhile, the bigger issue is finding a regular approach on the CT side.
Stress on the Big Stage
zonic believes mentality plays a big role against the best teams. He explained that the team has felt pressure in big matches this season, especially against Vitality.
Sometimes we tend to stress a lot when we come into the big stage this season, and right now it’s a bit tough to figure out why. We have gotten some extra help in terms of listening to the communication and seeing if there are some differences. But it felt like a mix of being a bit scared and stressed in these games.
He added that the Spirit loss had different causes that the team is still studying. At the same time, he gave credit to both Spirit and Vitality, who he believes are a step ahead of Falcons right now.
The Cologne Effect
zonic also looked back at the Major win. He pointed out that Falcons are still young and recalled that the team won the Major with karrigan in around 60 days. In his view, that quick success changed how everyone saw the team.
We put a lot of expectations on ourselves after that win, and then when we don’t reach those expectations, I think we start to get easily frustrated that things are not clicking. And I think that has put us in a bit of a setback, to be honest, this season.
In addition, zonic admitted that the Cologne title made both the community and the players overestimate where Falcons stood. Meanwhile, the team is still defining its system, and progress has been slower than hoped.
Looking Ahead to Beijing and the Major
Falcons will not play in Bucharest, so a break awaits after Malta. Beijing and the Major then close the season. zonic admits that a trophy would help, because the team needs some positives and a payoff for its hard work. Still, he takes it one game at a time and does not look far ahead. After beating NIP, the next game is his only focus.
His attention stays on small details. He saw good things on Ancient but also a lot of work left. For this reason, he wants to see steady progress more than he wants to think about the trophy.
Why This Matters for Falcons
In short, the opening win over NIP is a good start, but zonic makes it clear that results alone will not fix Falcons. The team must handle pressure against top sides, stabilize its map pool, and find answers on the CT side. If that happens, Falcons can turn their favorite status into a trophy before Beijing and the Major.
