Falcons beat Vitality in the third-place decider at the Esports World Cup, taking bronze and collecting VRS points. The match went three maps after the Falcons recovered from a heavy Train loss and closed out Nuke convincingly. Individual form from m0NESY and NiKo swung the finale.
Falcons finish third at EWC over Vitality
m0NESY and NiKo were the highest-rated players in the series.
Falcons could not lift the trophy on home soil at the Esports World Cup, but beat a struggling Vitality in the third-place decider and earned VRS points in the process.
“This game was super important for us, for the VRS points, and for our confidence, as well,” Nikola “NiKo” Kovač said after the match. “The game yesterday was very tough, especially on Train, so I’m glad we didn’t end on that note and had the opportunity to show better CS today.”
The quote came from Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, who highlighted the value of the result for confidence and standings.
Vitality struck first on their Inferno pick despite trailing 4-8 on the CT side, then turned it around with a 9-1 attack. William “mezii” Merriman registered a 2.92 T-side Rating and a +22% Swing performance in that run.
From that point Falcons took control, overcoming the previous Train loss against Aurora in the semi-finals and posting a 13-3 score to force a third map in the decider.
On Nuke, Vitality could not match Falcons, who recorded a second 13-3 to secure the bronze. Dan “apEX” Madesclaire was pictured in visible frustration as Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov delivered a 1.94-rated performance to close the match.
