Falcons eliminated FURIA from ESL Pro League Season 21 Stage 2 after a hard-fought series in the 1-2 elimination pool, securing victory with a 13-16 loss on Train, followed by narrow wins on Mirage (16-14) and Dust2 (13-9).
Arriving in Sweden fresh from a second-place finish at PGL Cluj-Napoca, Falcons found themselves in a difficult position after losses to MOUZ and 3DMAX. The possibility of an early exit loomed large, but an exceptional showing from Nikola “NiKo” Kovač turned the tide. His consistent multi-kill plays helped steer the team to a comeback on Mirage and maintain control on Dust2, preventing the series from slipping away.
FURIA entered Stage 2 following a 3-2 record in the first stage but struggled to find momentum, with their only victory coming in a revenge match against MIBR while suffering losses to MOUZ, Liquid, and Falcons.
The Brazilian squad initially looked strong on Train, mounting a comeback from a 3-7 deficit with outstanding multi-frag rounds from Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes and Felipe “skullz” Medeiros. Their resilience forced Falcons into uncomfortable situations, with Emil “Magisk” Reif’s two crucial quad kills in the second half keeping the European side in contention.
Despite Magisk and NiKo’s impressive performances early on, Falcons couldn’t break through FURIA’s rock-solid CT defense in overtime, allowing the Brazilian side to close the map flawlessly and take the series lead.
Mirage saw both teams locked in an intense, back-and-forth battle. FURIA exploited B site weaknesses to recover from a rough 1-4 start but squandered their pistol round win by falling to a force buy in the second half.
NiKo shifted into high gear when it mattered most, rescuing a 3v5 against FURIA’s Deagles and propelling Falcons to a 9-7 lead. FURIA responded through strong AWP plays from Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and well-structured site defenses from chelo and Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato, regaining control with leads of 11-7 and 12-8.
With Falcons’ economy weakened, NiKo delivered a game-changing moment, landing two Deagle shots in Connector to reverse the momentum. He followed it up with a triple kill alongside Abdul “degster” Gasanov, forcing overtime. The Russian sniper played a pivotal role in the final round, salvaging a defuse kit to clinch the victory at the last second.
NiKo continued his dominance on Dust2, clutching a 1v2 and delivering several impactful multi-kills alongside René “TeSeS” Madsen to push Falcons to a 7-5 advantage.
FURIA responded by winning the second pistol and gaining momentum, but key mistakes cost them. They failed to secure a 1v2 against Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski on B, then lost another advantageous post-plant on the same site to a brilliant triple kill from NiKo.
With Falcons now in control, they quickly reached series point. Although FURIA attempted a last-minute comeback, Magisk sealed the match with a spectacular triple spraydown—one that, to the frustration of fans, was missed in the live broadcast and never replayed.
Falcons’ victory keeps their ESL Pro League campaign alive, while FURIA bows out of the competition after a turbulent Stage 2.
