Falcons defeated Vitality 2–0 in the BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 2 semifinal and advanced to the tournament’s deciding match. After the series, kyotostxr spoke with Nikola NiKo Kovač about the comeback on Inferno, the importance of teamplay, Falcons’ reliance on their stars’ individual form, and his long-standing relationship with m0NESY.
Congratulations on the win! You were 6–11 down on the first map. What was your mindset at that moment? Did you already feel that taking it round by round could turn into a comeback?
It was only a five-round difference, so I would not call it a huge comeback. We kept believing.
— NiKo
Before this event, we talked a lot about the need to stay in the game no matter what happens. We want to rely more on teamplay, and we managed to do that today.
Obviously, Ilya’s one-versus-three clutch helped us a lot in starting the comeback and eventually closing out the map.
How much does Falcons’ game depend on m0NESY and kyousuke? Do they always need to play at an incredible level, or can you still perform like a number-one contender when they are having an average day?
If they do not perform, someone else has to step up. It is difficult to win when everyone on the team is underperforming.
— NiKo
But we have players who can take over if Ilya or Maksim are not performing. It could be me and René, or even Damjan, who had some great rounds on Inferno.
Of course, it is harder when those two do not perform. But we are working on having team solutions ready so that we can still win in those situations.
How would you rate yourself among the world’s best riflers right now? Would you put yourself in the top one or the top five?
