Nikola "NiKo" Kovač has opened up about Falcons' turbulent start to the season, suggesting their Major championship success may have worked against them rather than providing the expected boost.
Following disappointing results at BLAST Bounty and Esports World Cup, Falcons showed improvement by reaching the semi-finals at BLAST Open Porto. However, their run ended with a swift 0-2 defeat to Spirit, highlighting persistent issues within the squad.
"The whole event has been really up and down for us, one game would be excellent and then one game would be terrible, back and forth all the time," NiKo explained when analyzing the tournament. He pointed to their dominant victory over G2 as a highlight, praising both the approach and mental resilience displayed throughout.
The map pool has emerged as a critical weakness. Falcons lost virtually every map pick at the Porto event, creating significant pressure on the team. While Dust2 remains their reliable option, other maps like Anubis, Ancient, and Nuke have proven problematic even in practice sessions.
Addressing speculation about Finn "karrigan" Andersen's tendency to elevate performance in major tournaments while struggling in smaller events, NiKo dismissed the notion entirely. "I feel like we are not carrying well the confidence we had from the Major, I think it rather hurt us more than we actually benefitted from the confidence," he stated.
The Bosnian star emphasized this is a collective issue rather than an individual problem, stressing the team must identify what causes their group stage struggles. With a tournament break ahead before ESL Pro League, Falcons will have time to address these consistency problems and rebuild their form.
