After nearly two months of trials, Falcons have signed five players to form their first academy roster in CS2. The project, Falcons Force, is spearheaded by former pro turned coach Niels Christian “NaToSaphiX” Sillassen, and features just unknown rookies.
Just like Falcons’ main CS2 team, Falcons Force is an international project:
After the announcement, HLTV revealed that only grecu and VENO had player profiles on the website. This shows that the Falcons Force players have little to no experience in the professional environment.
Curiously, Olaie, VENO, clockzi, and grecu are represented by the same agency. The agency in question is NEEVE.PRO, which offers “career advice, legal support, and social media to reach tier-one.”
Jordan Savelli, Falcons’ General Manager, offered some insight into the Falcons Force project:
We’ve been talking about creating this academy for a long time, and now we’re proud to start shaping the next generation of top players.
Big thanks to NaToSaphiX for joining the project and leading the scouting & recruiting process over the past few months.
NaToSaphiX notably played for Sprout and HEROIC between 2018 and 2019 before embarking on a true journeyman career, playing for diverse teams and often standing in for others.
The Dane retired in 2023 and coached Ninjas in Pyjamas’ ESL Impact team before landing the job in Falcons Force. In addition to his professional career, NaToSaphiX produces educational content for his YouTube channel, which boasts 137,000 subscribers.
These players could very well debut in tier-one in a few years. Credit: © Falcons
Having an academy is quite useful in CS2 esports, whether the goal is to sell players for a profit or promote a pathway to the main team. Of course, not every organization can afford to keep an academy roster, but some of the best CS2 teams in the world, like Spirit, G2, and MOUZ invest in an academy setup.
MOUZ and Spirit are the most prominent examples of good academies in CS2. Three out of five MOUZ players came from their academy, while Spirit most notably nurtured Danil “donk” Kryshkovets since he was a 14-year-old.
Other good players such as Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin, Boris “magixx” Vorobyev, and Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia also came from Spirit academy, and the last two played for the main roster until recently.
Falcons Force should debut soon, as NaToSaphiX encouraged tournament organizers to send invites.
Feature image credit: © Falcons
21+ and present in VA. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
