Should Falcons swoop in for Ash after the Major?

If the Saudi-backed org is looking to break the bank to create a superteam in 2025, they could do a lot worse than shaking things up in the coaching department.

Rosters and players come and go, but GamerLegion’s ashhh (or Ash, if you believe his own AMA rather than Liquipedia) keeps on punching above his weight. Having brought the org to four consecutive Majors with no star power to rely on, he is without a doubt one of the hottest properties in the “sixth player” department for CS2. He’s also got a fantastic YouTube channel for you to check out with some interesting insights.

And I think it wouldn’t be so insane for Falcons to pick him up to replace zonic heading into the team’s new, star-studded era.

Can I bore you with footballing comparisons for a sec? While I wouldn’t go as far as others in saying that zonic has been “found out” in Falcons (and I wouldn’t put B1ade ahead of him just yet), it does seem to be clear that a certain profile has emerged during his time on the much-disliked organization. He’s clearly the chequebook manager kind of a coach, someone with a very specific and high-level vision that needs sterling quality players to execute on it – and winning Majors on two different orgs, five times in total, is a testament to just how well it all works when it does, as is the relative lack of elite-level accomplishments from his employers after he’s moved on.

Personally, I prefer managers like Ancelotti and Ferguson, who are not wedded to a strict philosophy and can adapt and adjust based on the resources available, and the passage of time. No wonder managers and leaders of this ilk have the potential for incredible longevity, while the philosopher kings tend to burn much brighter but twice as fast. Their innovations get adapted and further refined, often surpassing the original, and it sort of feels like this is what has been happening with zonic’s approach to CS.

I mean, man, has his attempts to cobble together something on Falcons dogwater or what? And it’s well-documented that he was promised a superteam from the get-go, something didn’t even close to getting players-wise in the end. If rumors are to be believed, the pieces will finally be coming in 2025, but is he still the best coach to take advantage of them going forward? Especially considering that the supposed s1mple-NiKo pairing will have significant tilt factor, something zonic has limited experience dealing with.

For a team of superstars with monster fragging potential and volatile mental, the FaZe approach (and a coach like RobbaN) feels like a much more appropriate fit. So why not go for someone who has not spent a year burning out in front of our very eyes, who has overperformed with multiple rosters across the end of the Global Offensive and the start of the CS2 era? If you’re playing the game with an infinite money cheat, courtesy of your Saudi backers, you can afford to make plays like this.

A fun wrinkle from the AMA, though. In response to the question, “Is it discouraging to coach what is essentially a feeder team for the bigger orgs?”, Ash answered, “hopefully now we are in the position to say no to these offers and convince our players to stay here and climb together.” It would be a tough question and a sad end to a Cinderella tale. But everyone has a price.

Photo credit: PGL