Team Falcons have made another splash in the CS2 scene, and stirred up some controversy.
The Saudi Arabian esports organization officially announced the signing of 17-year-old rising star kyousuke on June 23, 2025, confirming months of speculation about the blockbuster transfer.
The move sees the former Team Spirit Academy star player replacing Magisk, a four-time Major winner and Falcons’ longest-tenured player, who was benched right before the reveal.
Here’s how the Team Falcons lineup looks now:
- NiKo
- m0NESY
- kyxsan
- TeSeS
- kyousuke
According to CIS insider and Team Spirit scout OverDrive, the transfer came with a massive $2 million price tag. If true, it would rank as one of the most expensive player deals in Counter-Strike history. But let’s be real, spending big is nothing new for Team Falcons.
Over the past year, the team has made headlines for one eye-popping move after another: loaning s1mple from NAVI, getting NiKo from G2, buying out key players from Heroic, and reportedly paying a fortune for m0NESY in April. Now, with kyousuke on board, fans are once again questioning whether money can really buy greatness.
“Imagine if other huge successful rosters had this mentality. We’d never have a lineup like Astralis, current Vitality, early 2020s Na’Vi, etc. So many more examples. This is why I hope they (Falcons) never win anything even if I’m a fan of some of the players. So much about CS is so genuine and due to the love of the scene. Can’t just buy that,” a fan said on a Reddit thread about kyousuke’s signing.
“I don’t see how this will change any of the blatant issues that Team Falcons have, there’s no system properly in place, communication is always poor with the players, and there’s no culture from Falcons. Stage 2 Austin Major should be the evidence of that. People need to stop overhyping this,” another fan said, referring to Falcons’ disastrous campaign at the recently concluded Major in Texas.
Others pointed out the pressure kyousuke now faces in his tier 1 debut, especially with memes already circulating that Falcons will drop him the moment he doesn’t match donk-level stats.
Still, not everyone is hating. Some fans are genuinely curious to see how this superteam stacks up against heavyweights in the upcoming second season of the CS2 2025 competitive scene, particularly against current kings Team Vitality.
“Keeping my undying hate for Falcons aside, the CS arms race has begun. It will be an exciting time to see how the scene will play out next with Vitality domination,” one fan pointed out. “As much as I’d like to see Falcons crumble, it’s pretty inevitable that they’ll become one of the best teams in the world through sheer buying power,” another said.
Personally, I’ve never been a fan of superteams formed with an open checkbook, be it in esports or traditional sports. But I’m not rooting for Falcons’ downfall, either. I just want to see them finally come together and deliver the kind of elite CS they’re capable of on a Major or any top-tier tournament, as what they are supposed to do. (Please, no more throwing a 5vs3 on Inferno. We’ve seen enough.)
Published: Jun 24, 2025 03:03 am