Nikola "NiKo" Kovač will indeed play in the playoff stage of the tournament in Romania, despite Falcons’ 0-2 start. In a decisive fifth-round match, they managed to defeat the favored MongolZ 2-1, joining FaZe and Virtus.pro in rounding out the top 8.
Virtus.pro defeated Astralis 2-0 for the third time in a row. The Danish squad lost too many duels to pose a real threat. This time, Virtus opened with a 13-10 win on Dust2, followed by a much more dominant 13-6 victory on Train.
FaZe Clan avoided an upset against the tournament’s biggest surprise, the Polish team Apogee, who squandered two chances to reach the playoffs and couldn’t overcome more experienced teams in key matches. Still, Apogee showed serious potential, though they now face the challenge of breaking into top-tier events amidst stiff competition.
Falcons bounced back after a 13-9 loss on Mirage to the Mongolian side. On Dust2, a dominant CT side gave them a 9-3 lead that they converted into a 13-6 win. The decider on Ancient went to overtime, where Falcons clinched a 16-14 victory.
They now face GamerLegion in the quarterfinals, the same team that humiliated them in the second round with a combined 26-3 score across two maps. It would be nothing short of a miracle if Falcons manage to avenge that defeat. This matchup will cross paths with the winner of FaZe Clan vs. 3DMAX. The French side beat several strong opponents in the first three rounds and enters as the favorite, but FaZe's experience makes this an open contest.
In the upper half of the bracket, G2 Esports and Virtus.pro face off in a high-stakes quarterfinal, while Aurora Gaming (formerly Eternal Fire) takes on Complexity.
