Team Falcons has secured a 2-0 win against K27 in the opening match of PGL Astrana on the debut of their freshly minted skipper Finn ‘karrigan‘ Anderson, who will reunite with former FaZe teammate Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovac to steer the Falcons’ ship in the right direction.
VETO
- K27 removed Inferno
- Falcons removed Overpass
- K27 picked Dust2
- Falcons picked Ancient
- Falcons removed Anubis
- K27 removed Nuke
- Mirage was left over
Map 1: Dust2; Pick: K27; Winner: Falcons
A 5-0 start for the Falcons put them in the lead before K27 managed to exploit the B site to pull in a few rounds by the end of the first half. Swapping sides with a 9-3 lead, the Falcons’ first half saw a highly proactive defense that not only allowed the likes of m0NESY and NiKo to have their freedom but also kept the cracks in the defense limited. The lead was cut down with K27 securing 2 rounds off the back of the pistol round win, but Falcons got hold of the offense with the first gun round to close out the map with a 13-5 scoreline.
Map 2: Ancient; Pick: Falcons; Winner: Falcons
Starting on the offense, the Falcons secured a 6-0 start before K27 started putting rounds on the board. Winning a single round, K27 managed to close the gap by the end of the first half to secure a 7-5 half before switching sides. Winning the pistol, Falcons got up to 11 rounds before their defense started showing cracks, which gave K27 the room to start mounting a comeback. The Falcons’ failure to stop the K27 offense saw the scoreline get levelled at 11-11 before a successful retake put the Falcons back in the lead and secured the map in the following round with a 13-11 win.
The debut match was enough to say that karrigan‘s DNA is quite evident in the way Falcons choose to play. With a focus on setting up individuals and capitalizing on high-risk, high-reward plays, the team looks different and refreshing, but questions surrounding consistency will take time to be answered.
