“We Can't Win Our Own Map Pick Lately”: From FaZe to NAVI, How Falcons' Veto Paradox Cost karrigan and zonic at IEM Beijing CS2
Punishing elite opponents on their preferred battlegrounds while repeatedly faltering on their own veto selections: at IEM Beijing 2026, Finn "karrigan" Andersen and Team Falcons ran headfirst into one of the strangest tactical paradoxes in top-tier Counter-Strike 2. First highlighted by the Danish in-game leader after eliminating his former organization FaZe Clan (2-1), that inability to convert their own map picks ultimately cost Falcons a playoff spot against Natus Vincere (NAVI) just weeks before the PGL Major Singapore 2026.
The Anubis Paradox and karrigan's First Server Reunion Against FaZe Clan and frozen
After dropping their tournament opener against Natus Vincere (including a lopsided 5-13 defeat on Ancient), Team Falcons found themselves fighting for tournament survival in the IEM Beijing 2026 Group A lower bracket against FaZe Clan. For karrigan, the elimination match carried obvious emotional weight: it marked the very first time the veteran captain faced former teammate David "frozen" Čerňanský and his old banner across the server since departing FaZe to lead Falcons alongside Nikola "NiKo" Kovač, Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov, and young rifler Maxim "kyousuke" Lukin.
The trajectory of that three-map series encapsulated the exact issue plaguing head coach Danny "zonic" Sørensen and his roster. Anticipating that FaZe would target either Ancient or Mirage to exploit perceived defensive gaps, Falcons came out swinging on FaZe's pick of Ancient (13-3). Yet once the series shifted to Falcons' own selection of Anubis, their offense stalled out in a 10-13 loss, forcing karrigan's squad to close out the decider on Mirage (13-7) to send FaZe packing.
"Obviously, I think it's so hard that we are winning so many map picks by enemies, but we can't win our own map pick lately. I think it's a little bit frustrating, because Anubis has been a good map when people pick against us, now we picked it, and now it didn't feel as good today. We just need to take the small wins we get and transform them into some momentum."
Finn "karrigan" Andersen, Team Falcons IGL at IEM Beijing 2026
"Dust2 Is the Only Map We Can Rely On": The Collapse Against NAVI and zonic's Assessment
After moving past HEROIC earlier in the day, Team Falcons set up a rematch against Natus Vincere in the Group A lower-bracket final with an arena playoff berth on the line. Once again, the exact pattern karrigan had warned about repeated itself.
Starting on Ancient, picked by NAVI and widely viewed as one of Falcons' shakier maps following their opening-day blowout, karrigan's side edged out a gritty 13-11 victory. The momentum evaporated immediately on Falcons' own pick of Inferno. Pressured from the opening gun rounds by Ukrainian AWPer Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov and NAVI's proactive timings, Falcons crumbled 4-13 on Inferno before collapsing 3-13 on the Mirage decider.
Speaking after the 1-2 elimination, head coach Danny "zonic" Sørensen admitted that Dust2 is currently the only map his roster can somewhat count on, and even that comes without any guarantee. More concerning for the five-time Major-winning coach is how quickly early deficits on T-side map picks unravel the team's entire structure:
"We are often the higher seed, at least recently, and we don't mind taking our opponents' map pick, but when it comes to our own, we fall flat. I don't know if it's a mental part or starting on the T-side, and when we get a rough start, it seems to just put us into a very bad space where protocols get lost. We don't play with patience. We get stressed. We don't communicate properly. When we are playing good, having momentum, even winning the first three or four rounds, the entire half looks really good. But when we get off to a bad start, it can destroy our entire game."
Danny "zonic" Sørensen, Team Falcons Head Coach
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Three Weeks to Reset Before Stage 3 of the PGL Major Singapore 2026
The gap between Falcons' individual ceiling and their fragile map starts has become the defining storyline of their season. While veterans like karrigan, NiKo, and m0NESY have weathered hundreds of high-stakes LAN series, young rifler kyousuke is still adjusting to the vocal and structural demands of tier-one international Counter-Strike, sometimes overthinking mid-round situations when early rounds slip away. Despite the Beijing exit, zonic made it clear that the solution lies in emotional stability and daily protocol refinement rather than roster changes.
Fortunately for Falcons, the calendar offers a vital cushion. Having already locked in a direct seed into Stage 3 of the PGL Major Singapore 2026 later this month, the squad will bypass the first two Swiss stages entirely and enter the Major just three best-of-series wins away from the playoffs. With no qualifier or LAN event standing between Beijing and Singapore, karrigan and zonic now have an uninterrupted bootcamp window to fix their own map picks before the biggest tournament of the year.
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