Falcons kyxsan on m0NESY: “The biggest thing that I’m surprised about is his communication”

In an epic brawl at the IEM Melbourne group stage, Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski and Falcons took down Natus Vincere 2-1 (9-13, 13-11, 13-4) to book a spot at the Rod Laver Arena.

It was a series to behold, with huge comebacks and swing rounds — but at the forefront was new pickup Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov, who landed a ridiculous 57 kills and a 1.39 rating for the series. He was the chief caveat of Falcons miraculous Mirage recovery, coming back from 5-11 down to tie it up before they kept rolling, winning 23 of the last 27 rounds in the series to claim victory.

Speaking to esports.gg after the match, kyxsan explains m0NESY has had little time to fall into the Falcons routine, but the 24-year-old Macedonian captain has complete faith in his new superstar sniper — and was even surprised by one element of his game he hadn't seen at this level from an AWPer before.

Before we discuss the NaVi game, I want to praise your individual performance in the SAW opener. What expectations did you have for both the team and yourself here in Melbourne upon arrival?

"We came here and we didn't know what to expect because it was the first game with m0NESY and we didn't have too much practice before Melbourne. But yeah, I think lately I've been playing a bit better individually. I don't know what the reason is, but I think it's helping the team a lot.  

"I think we also believe in each other a bit more now than before. That helps us with the calls, with the endings of the round and all of that."

The NaVi series was a true spectacle. We had massive comebacks, huge clutch rounds…what do you say and discuss when you’re down 11-5 against NaVi on their pick of Mirage? How do you go about pulling back such a game.

"That's what I mean with the belief, because even though we were so much down, everyone still believed in each other and we believed that we could actually come back. I think that's the biggest strength of this team. 

"I mean, it's still early days with Ilya, but we could see from the start that he brings a lot to the team and now it's kind of easier to believe in each other and believe in these kinds of comebacks in every game, it helps with confidence."

After turning it around on Mirage you pulled ahead and kept NaVi low on Dust 2. Was there much discussion and chatter about keeping NaVi away from making a comeback of their own? 

"Yeah, we had a big lead on Dust 2, but we stayed calm and we didn't think that the game is ever over so we tried to do our things as we usually do. I think that helped us a lot, especially zonic helped us with this calmness a lot, keeping cool and he’s a big part of this win."

This was Falcons’ first head-to-head against one another this season and it was an iconic match to say the least. Is this the start of a bit of a rivalry? How much prep had you done based on NaVi particularly coming into this series? 

"I mean we did a good prep I think, we didn't have too much time obviously because yesterday the game finished late  but we had enough time to prepare our map and to focus on what we expected them to pick, so I think we were really ready. We had some really good information about how they play; obviously, it didn't work in the first map, but even though we lost I think we had good reads.

"They were coming where we were stacked with three to four players but we just couldn't finish the rounds, so I think the preparation went really well and it paid off in the end."

We did hear a bit about your preparation with m0NESY and that it was very limited to stuff like basic strategy and callouts in the day or two you had. You’re only two best-of-threes in, but do you feel the Falcons playbook will need to change with m0NESY’s addition, or are you finding he is able to slot straight into the position?

"I think he should be able to slot in because I feel like the role is maybe one of the easiest to change, because we don't need to change the structure — it's just the AWPer who plays this role. 

"m0NESY is a really smart player, he has a lot of knowledge about the game and each map’s utility and he easily understands all the things that we are telling him already so I don't think we need to change our playbook a lot. It's mostly him adapting and learning about us."

What makes m0NESY different from previous AWPers you've worked with like degster here and with HEROIC, or with nawwk at Apeks? 

"The biggest thing that I'm surprised about is his communication. Obviously, he's really skilled at the game, I don't have to talk about that, but the way he's helping the team in every possible way.

"Even mid-round, like offering a flash or offering a smoke or calling a rotation, these kinds of things all the other AWPers do, but I think he's doing it on the next level, if I can say that."

You’ve now got m0NESY and NiKo, Falcons has a big trophy from PGL Bucharest and you’re already locked in for playoffs here in Melbourne. Is there additional pressure to perform now that you’ve got these big names and trophies?

"Obviously, there will be pressure because we have NiKo and m0NESY, and teams that have NiKo and m0NESY are expected to win trophies. So there’s a kind of pressure, but I think we are not trying to think about it too much. We're just trying to play the game and hope for the best."

Kyxsan and Falcons next test comes in the form of a surging Vitality aiming to keep their record win streak alive. Both go head-to-head in tomorrow's upper bracket final where a semi-final spot at IEM Melbourne awaits.

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