Falcons hand the reins to karrigan after kyxsan’s benching

Falcons made a big roster switch. Damjan Stoilkovski “kyxsan” is out, Finn Andersen “karrigan” is in, and the team wants a captain who can help them close big playoff games. This move could shape the next chapter for one of CS2’s biggest projects. Read on to see what changed and what it means.

kyxsan’s Bench Move Ends a Promising Falcons Spell

kyxsan leaves the active roster after 16 months with Falcons, a stretch that began in January 2025 when he arrived with René Madsen “TeSeS” and Abdul Gasanov “degster”, and his spell as in-game leader gave the team some real highs, even if the full breakthrough never came.

During that run, Falcons:

• Won their first CS trophy at PGL Bucharest;
• Made six more grand finals;
• Stayed in the mix at top events through early 2026.

The latest final came at BLAST Bounty Finals in January 2026, which kept Falcons in the spotlight as one of the scene’s biggest projects.

After the benching, kyxsan said on X that the timing was “unfortunate” with the Cologne Major close, but added that he respected the decision and called the stint a good experience.

Strong Runs, One Trophy, and a Ceiling Still Unbroken

Falcons’ peak under Damjan Stoilkovski’s lead came at PGL Bucharest 2025, where they swept G2 3-0 in the grand final with 13-5 on Mirage, 13-7 on Nuke, and 13-8 on Ancient. kyxsan posted a 40-31 K-D and a 1.25 rating in that series, while degster earned player of the match honors after a 46-30 K-D, 1.21 rating, and 79.7% KAST. That was the kind of complete, composed title run Falcons had been chasing.

At BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1 Finals, Falcons reached another grand final but were swept 3-0 by PARIVISION. Even in defeat, Nikola Kovač “NiKo” was so strong that HLTV named him MVP, citing a 1.20 event rating, four map awards, and elite round-winning damage numbers. That kind of contrast can sting inside a contender: star output was there, trophies were not.

IEM Rio was a snapshot of the same pattern. Falcons beat Spirit 2-0 to reach the playoffs, then snapped Vitality’s 18-match win streak with a 2-1 victory in the Group A upper final. The map scores were 13-10 on Mirage, 6-13 on Dust2, and 16-14 on Nuke, with Ilya Osipov “m0NESY” leading the way on 59-45 and a 1.41 rating. kyxsan’s own line in that series was 40-51 with a 0.98 rating. A third-place finish is respectable, but for a roster this expensive and this gifted, respectable rarely feels like enough.

karrigan Closes the FaZe Chapter and Takes the Falcons Captaincy

FaZe have officially closed the book on Finn Andersen’s second run with the team, ending a five-year stretch that added some huge wins to his legacy. He lifted eight LAN trophies in that time, including the Antwerp Major in 2022 and Intel Grand Slam Season 4 in 2023. He also led FaZe to Major finals in Copenhagen, Shanghai, and Budapest, which says a lot about how often his teams stayed in the fight at the top.

Now he is heading to Falcons as the new in-game leader, and that tells the whole story of what Falcons want next. This team already has firepower. What it has been missing in the biggest moments is a captain with deep playoff reps and the nerve to keep rounds under control when the pressure spikes.

A NiKo Reunion Sets the Tone for Falcons’ Next Phase

This move also revives an old partnership. karrigan and Nikola Kovač played together on FaZe in 2017 and 2018, winning seven titles, and now they reunite with zonic behind them and a high-firepower core around them. Falcons’ current group features NiKo, TeSeS, m0NESY, kyousuke, and now karrigan, with PGL Astana on May 9 set to be the first real test of the new structure. A team that already had stars has now handed the wheel to a captain built for pressure.