Esport MeFalcons' collapse continues as poor starts sink Beijing run, says zonic
Coach Danny "zonic" Sørensen says Falcons' habit of unravelling after slow starts cost them again as IEM Beijing ended with a 1-2 defeat to Natus Vincere.
Falcons' IEM Beijing campaign ended on a 1-2 defeat to Natus Vincere, a result that extended a pattern coach Danny "zonic" Sørensen says the team cannot shake, according to HLTV.
Falcons had beaten HEROIC earlier in the day and then avenged an opening Ancient loss to NAVI, only to fall away on Inferno and Mirage to exit the event.
The team's problems stem from how they react once a map starts badly, leaving them stressed and unable to stick to their plans, Sørensen said. "It's frustrating to see because it is something that we are addressing and talking about daily," he said.
Falcons looked competitive on Ancient against HEROIC, a map Sørensen described as one of their weaker ones, turning a heavy prior loss into "winning it in a close fashion".
Against NAVI the story reversed, with Inferno going wrong early. Sørensen said NAVI applied pressure and made the right calls at the right moments, and that the opening rounds effectively decided the whole map.
The damage carried into the decider, with Sørensen suggesting Falcons' confidence picking Mirage was affected by how Inferno had gone just beforehand.
On why Falcons continue to struggle on maps they pick themselves, Sørensen said the team has tried multiple combinations without finding consistency. "Right now the only map that we can actually rely on, but it's not even 100% sure, is Dust2," he said.
Falcons have often been the higher seed recently and are comfortable taking an opponent's map pick, but repeatedly "fall flat" on their own, something Sørensen linked to either a mental block or difficulties starting on the T-side.
Sørensen summarised the pattern bluntly: "When we get off to a bad start, it can destroy our entire game", adding that the team needs to find more composure in those moments.
The exit also carried personal significance for Sørensen, who worked as a coach at IEM Beijing in 2019, when he won the event with Astralis. The result this time was very different, he said, though he praised the Beijing crowd for being respectful during team walks and said the city still felt like "a second home".
Falcons leave Beijing with their map-pick issues unresolved, the coaching staff continuing to work on the problem daily even as it keeps resurfacing in competition.