zonic Lifts FACEIT Ban in Falcons

Team Falcons players can grind FACEIT again. Team coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen has lifted the previous restriction after Finn “karrigan” Andersen joined as captain. kyousuke and TeSeS revealed this during the ESL podcast at IEM Cologne Major 2026.

Previously, zonic limited Falcons players from playing FACEIT matches. The coach believed that constant grinding could create bad habits, hurt the team’s structure, and even take away enjoyment from the game. At the time, a lot of attention was focused on m0NESY: zonic himself admitted that he was worried about being blamed if the AWPer’s form started to decline after the ban.

But after karrigan’s arrival, the rule disappeared. When SPUNJ asked kyousuke whether he plays a lot of FACEIT, he answered: “A lot.” TeSeS confirmed that the ban is no longer in effect, although the team had not announced it publicly.

kyousuke himself admitted that he may have even overdone it during this Major. According to him, he has around 140-150 hours in the game over the past two weeks. After arriving in Cologne, he played more than 50 FACEIT matches and climbed to 10th place on the platform. m0NESY has played roughly half as many matches, but TeSeS made it clear that he is also taking advantage of the lifted restriction.

Falcons vs Vitality at IEM Cologne 2026: The Major's Biggest Quarterfinal

Falcons finished the group stage of IEM Cologne Major 2026 with a 3-1 record. In the quarterfinals, the team will face Vitality on June 19 and will try to stop the French team’s era while moving one step closer to the coveted trophy.