Falcons arrive at IEM Beijing 2026 still chasing a trophy in the Fall season, with two of their biggest rivals, Spirit and Vitality, absent. The team has had two weeks without official matches since finishing fourth at the Thunderpick World Championship, where playing scared, stress and repeated overpeeks hurt them.
According to Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov, the key is to remember the basics learned from the start of CS: how to play off a teammate, how to support him, and how to quickly judge whether to take a fight. He believes the team should not overthink, and that quick analysis is what separates professionals from other players. He added that after the Major and the vacation the team forgot some of its strengths, and that at Thunderpick they lost to BetBoom and Aurora despite winning the first map in each series.
On Maksim "kyousuke" Lukin's dip in form, m0NESY said he has not seen it in practice or on FACEIT. In his view, during official matches kyousuke sometimes overthinks because his role carries a lot of responsibility, and he feels he must always say or do something. His advice is for kyousuke to focus on his crosshair and be himself. m0NESY also said motivation is not an issue for kyousuke despite winning the Major early in his career.
m0NESY also addressed his contract with Falcons, which runs through 2030, saying he is happy to stay and shares the organization's ambitions. He added that he likes the Cache map, especially as an AWPer, and that the team may test it before the Singapore Major or later.
In their first match of the tournament, Falcons face NAVI, the organization where m0NESY grew up. He stressed that the absence of Spirit and Vitality does not make the event easier and that the team must stay focused regardless of the opponent.