Media: m0NESY closing in on move to Falcons

Falcons are on the verge of securing one of Counter-Strike’s top prospects, with Croissant Strike journalist Guillaume “neL” Rathier reporting that the Saudi-backed organization is in advanced talks with G2 to acquire Ilya “⁠m0NESY⁠” Osipov.

m0NESY is expected to take Abdul “⁠degster⁠” Gasanov’s place in the lineup, though the timing of his debut remains unclear. Falcons are set to attend four tournaments PGL Bucharest, IEM Melbourne, BLAST Rivals, and IEM Dallas before heading to the BLAST.tv Austin Major.

This isn’t the first time Falcons have made a move for m0NESY. An offer was floated during the winter off-season, but G2 turned down all approaches, unwilling to lose another star after parting ways with Nikola “⁠NiKo⁠” Kovač. With contract renewal talks reportedly stalled, however, G2 have now shifted gears to avoid losing the player for free.

Despite m0NESY entering the final stretch of his contract, Falcons are said to be ready to pay a record-breaking transfer fee to bring the Russian talent onboard.

The potential signing comes amid a rough patch for G2. The team has struggled to find consistency in 2024, with just one win over a top-10 opponent. When asked by HLTV during BLAST Open Lisbon whether the roster felt added pressure to retain m0NESY, Nemanja “⁠huNter-⁠” Kovač downplayed the narrative.

“We were not thinking about that even before, when we had NiKo and we knew that he would leave the team,” huNter- said. “We were not thinking about it at all until we lost the last game against FaZe [at the Shanghai Major], we were always thinking, ‘This is how it is, he will stay.’”

m0NESY joined G2 in early 2022 from NAVI in a transfer reportedly worth $600,000 and quickly became the team’s centerpiece. He helped secure multiple Big Event trophies, including IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne in 2023, and has earned four MVP awards to date. Earlier this year, he was shortlisted for HLTV’s Player of the Year, ultimately finishing behind Danil “⁠donk⁠” Kryshkovets.

Now, with a reunion with NiKo on the cards, m0NESY appears set to take on a new challenge with Falcons.

With m0NESY’s addition, Falcons’ lineup will be:

• 🇩🇰 Emil “Magisk” Reif

• 🇧🇦 Nikola “⁠NiKo⁠” Kovač

• 🇲🇰 Damjan “⁠kyxsan⁠” Stoilkovski

• 🇩🇰 René “⁠TeSeS⁠” Madsen

• 🇷🇺 Ilya “⁠m0NESY⁠” Osipov

  
  
  
  

• 🇩🇰 Danny “zonic” Sørensen (Coach)