After exploring other options during the offseason, the Falcons are now targeting three players from HEROIC. The Saudi-backed organization is in “advanced discussions” with HEROIC to sign Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski (Macedonian IGL), René “TeSeS” Madsen (Danish rifler), and Abdulkhalik “degster” Gasanov (AWPer), according to a joint report from HLTV.org and CS2 insider Guillaume “neL” Rathier.
According to their findings, talks between the Falcons and HEROIC are in the advanced stages, but the Saudi organization still needs to reach agreements with kyxsan, TeSeS, and degster. The move marks a complete shift in the Falcons’ strategy during the offseason. NeL previously reported that the Falcons failed to sign Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov and Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo to pair with the incoming Nikola “NiKo” Kovač.
A few days later, neL reported that the Falcons were looking into signing young players Dmytro “jambo” Semera and Michel “ewjerkz” Pinto. Now, however, it appears that the Falcons have decided to pursue the HEROIC trio.
If this move goes through, it would be the end of HEROIC as we know it. The Danish organization is also reportedly losing Israeli star Guy “NertZ” Iluz to Team Liquid. Danish rifler Rasmus “sjuush” Beck and head coach Eetu “sAw” Saha will be the only two remaining on HEROIC for 2025.
In addition to not having to build a team from scratch since they’ll be getting three players who already play together, the Falcons will also inherit Valve Ranking points from HEROIC. This is a big factor for 2025 since all tournament organizers must use Valve Ranking to determine invites.
Without a finished trio, the Falcons will have to attend tier-two events throughout 2025 to earn enough points to earn an invite to a tier-one event. Additionally, the Falcons won’t have to force Emil “Magisk” Reif to be the IGL since they already have kyxsan.
Despite its benefits, this CS2 off-season showed that the Falcons don’t have a set strategy. First, they tried to build a super team with NiKo, m0NESY, and Jimpphat, then targeted two young players in ewjerkz and jambo. If another semester is wasted, head coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen will surely get a lot of criticism.
