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In a post-game interview with Richie “SeekNStrike” Garcia and Johan “pieliedie” Åström at the ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, Team Falcons’ Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen recapped the team’s series against 9Pandas on 12th December which ended in a draw. Cr1t- talked about the team’s first loss of the tournament and also explained how it is good to lose in the group stage rather than fumbling in the bracket stage of any tournament.
Cr1t- On Why He’d Rather Lose in the Group Stage
Team Falcons faced its first match loss of the tournament but managed to make a comeback in game two and score a victory in a series against 9Pandas at the ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023. Following this, the series ended in a draw with a 1-1 score. This was notably the first match win for 9Pandas and the first match loss for Team Falcons at the ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023.
After the series, Cr1t- talked about what happened in the game during an interview, and one peculiar observation he made was about handling losses in the group stage.
According to Cr1t-, it is important to lose in the group stage of a tournament because if a team goes to the playoffs without a loss, the team might be taken aback if and when it actually loses in the playoffs. He implied that there is a high chance that a sudden loss during a crucial stage like the playoffs could hinder the team’s morale and performance.
“I think it just happens, I think it’s good for us also to just get the loss. It’s not good to have tournament runs where you go to the bracket and when you get a loss and when you lose, it’s a big surprise. I think it’s a good lesson for us to play against teams that do something we are not used to.” Cr1t- said.
Shortly after this interview, Team Falcons went up against G2.iG and suffered a series loss against the newly formed Chinese joint-venture between G2 Esports and Invictus Gaming.
On the final day of the group stage, Team Falcons went up against Tundra Esports and closed it out with a strong win. It eventually punched its ticket to the upper bracket quarter-finals.
