None of us thought the final would look like this, but here we are. Falcons humbled Vitality – the pre-event favorite – while playing with a stand in, and without their head coach. With kyousuke still unavailable, NucleonZ stepped in, and zonic is still absent due to a family tragedy. But none of that stopped Falcons from winning the semifinal. NucleonZ didn’t try to do too much, he just played his spots, and traded when needed – and he did those things damn well if you ask me. And when you have that kind of impact available, a functional stand-in can be enough.

PARIVISION’s run deserves full respect. They picked Spirit, beat them, then swept FURIA – and that’s two top-five teams back-to-back. That’s not luck, its execution. The zweih angle is real too – beating the team that kicked him out at the first big tournament they face, is as clean revenge story as it gets. What’s even more important, PARIVISION look comfortable playing their game on LAN.

So, how does it play out in a BO5?

Falcons have the ability to win a map off pure impact, especially if NiKo or m0NESY take over a half – just ask Vitality, they’ll tell you it’s true. But PARIVISION proved they’re confident and able to spar with the top teams.

The stand-in factor matter more over five maps than three, because if the series goes long, Falcons will need clean comms and mid-round fixes – and that’s without zonic behind them.

PARIVISION will want control, repetition, and patience. Falcons want applying pressure and let individual quality swing halves. The question is whether PARIVISION can consistently deny Falcons their space without getting punished by raw firepower. It worked against Spirit and FURIA, but against Falcons it’ll probably be harder, just because Falcons looked like they’re fine playing structured CS until someone like NiKo or m0NESY decides the round anyway.

PARIVISION can absolutely take maps here, especially if they keep the pace slow. But Falcons are looking eager to put a stop to the talk that they can’t deliver when it counts, especially now with a stand-in.

Prediction: Falcons wins the trophy 3-2. PARIVISION might stretch the series, but the firepower nad late-series impact decides.