Team Falcons player Nikola ‘NiKo‘ Kovač believes that the organisation’s Counter-Strike 2 roster has yet to reach its peak following a strong second half of 2025.
In an hour-long interview with esports interviewer Freya Spiers on NiKo’s channel, the Bosnian player stated that he expects his team to be contending for several tournament victories throughout 2026.
NiKo On Joining Team Falcons
During the interview, NiKo sheds light on a range of topics, including his departure from G2 Esports in January 2025. He reveals that the organisation began negotiations prior to IEM Sydney 2023, before deciding to join over a year later, following the Shanghai Major.
“I think at first I said yes because it felt like G2 didn’t show much interest in keeping me on the team. That kind of hurt me and pushed me into saying yes to Falcons,” revealed NiKo in the interview.
In April 2025, NiKo reunited with former G2 Esports teammate Ilya ‘m0NESY‘ Osipov, while Maxim ‘kyousuke’ Lukin arrived from Team Spirit‘s academy roster in June. The signing of kyousuke brought about a change of roles within the Team Falcons line-up, with NiKo transitioning to a more supportive role to accommodate kyousuke’s high-impact style of play.
“I will do everything I can for the team to succeed,” continued NiKo. “This was the only reason I decided to step away and give it to Maksim, because I feel this will give us a higher chance to win trophies.”
Throughout the 2025 season, Team Falcons came close to lifting the trophy at high-profile events, finishing second at five Tier 1 tournaments. The team managed to win one title over the last 12 months, securing victory at PGL Bucharest 2025.
2026 Expectations
Having narrowly missed out on victory on multiple occasions during the second half of 2025, Team Falcons has cemented its place as one of several teams capable of contending for victory at any given moment.
“I would say this is the team that can achieve a lot,” concluded NiKo. “I think we have been making good progress since IEM Cologne. We have been showing some consistent and quality CS. Now it’s about taking it to the next level.”
Team Falcons begins its 2026 campaign at BLAST Bounty Season 1, where it takes on ECSTATIC in the round of 32.
