Coming off the back of a disastrous exit from Fissure, Falcons kicks off their ESL Pro League Season 22 campaign with a convincing win over Astralis. Total domination and display of confidence across both maps from the Falcons and their individuals closed the doors for an upset by the Danes.
VETO
- Astralis removed Train
- Falcons removed Overpass
- Astralis picked Inferno
- Falcons picked Mirage
- Astralis removed Dust2
- Falcons removed Nuke
- Ancient was left over
Map 1: Inferno; Pick: Astralis; Winner: Falcons
Starting on the defence, the Falcons went 3-0 up before the Danes hit the board. The first round pulled in by Astralis saw them pull in 7 rounds in a row before Falcons desperately pulled in the final two rounds to close the half with a 7-5 scoreline. The 7 rounds for Astralis saw a change later in the second half, but not before Falcons pulled in 6 rounds in a row to take the lead. Astralis won one more round as the first map of the series concluded with a 13-8 scoreline. It was an unlucky day for Astralis to face m0NESY and NiKo, who were firing on all cylinders and did most of the heavy lifting.
Map 2: Mirage; Pick: Falcons; Winner: Falcons
A 2-0 start for Astralis saw them win back-to-back pistol rounds, but to no one’s surprise, Falcons took the momentum back. Back and forth between the two teams for the rest of the half saw the scoreline levelled before switching sides. Falcons left no room for error in the second half as a picture-perfect defence laid out by the multi-national roster stopped any hopes for a 3rd map by Astralis. 13-6 scoreline saw Falcons win their opening round of the ESL Pro League with a convincing scoreline. NiKo dropping 2.19 IR on Mirage brings hopes for Falcons, but lately, it has been a rare sight.
The addition of Magisk did not give them a honeymoon start as many predicted, but it goes without saying that they will improve with time, and to face a team of superstars like the Falcons on their debut is not the perfect situation to ease into a roster. EPL will have more chances if Astralis can take them, but something tells us there is more to them than what we say today.