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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin was reported to miss Team Falcons’ opening match against NRG at BLAST Open Rotterdam, which began on 18 March 2026, because of visa issues. Matej “NucleonZ” Trajkoski was named as his stand-in. Falcons won that match 2–0, and BLAST’s later match pages list kyousuke among the Falcons players, which indicates he played later in the event.
What was reported before the opener
HLTV published its report on 17 March 2026, one day before the group stage began. It said kyousuke would not be available for Falcons’ first match against NRG and that visa issues were the cause. NucleonZ was named to fill in for as long as needed. The report did not establish how long kyousuke would be out, and it described his status for the rest of the tournament as unresolved at the time of publication.
Timeline of the absence and return
The table below separates what was reported at the time from what BLAST’s official pages later recorded.
| Date | Development | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 17 March 2026 | kyousuke reported to miss the NRG match due to visa issues; NucleonZ named as stand-in; availability for the rest of the event unresolved | HLTV report, published 17 March 2026 |
| 18 March 2026 | BLAST Open Rotterdam group stage opens | BLAST event announcement |
| 18 March 2026 (opening match) | Falcons beat NRG 2–0 | BLAST match record |
| Later group-stage matches | kyousuke is listed among Falcons players in the match against NAVI and the match against FURIA | BLAST match pages; exact match dates for these entries not stated |
Who actually played the opener
BLAST’s roster display for the NRG match lists kyousuke, but the same page’s stat table shows no kyousuke statistics. That does not match HLTV’s contemporaneous account that NucleonZ stood in. Because the two sources conflict on this point, the substitution should be attributed to HLTV, not inferred from BLAST’s roster list. Readers should not treat the roster listing alone as proof that kyousuke competed in that match.
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What remains unclear
Neither the HLTV report nor the BLAST pages explain the visa problem or how it was resolved. The available evidence also does not give a date for kyousuke’s return. What can be stated with confidence is narrower: he was reported absent from the opener, NucleonZ was named as the replacement, and later BLAST match pages list kyousuke among Falcons players.
How to check roster news for an event like this
- Start with the original report and its publication date. For this story, that is HLTV on 17 March 2026.
- Check the event’s official match page for the stat table, not only the roster list. A player with no statistics on a match page may not have played that match.
- Look at several later match pages before concluding that a player has returned. A single listing can conflict with other records.
- Where a visa or travel reason is given, note that the reporting may not explain the mechanics or the timeline, and avoid filling that gap with assumptions.
For this story, the reliable picture is the one the reporting and official match records agree on: a reported absence at the start of the event, a named stand-in, a 2–0 Falcons win over NRG, and later appearances by kyousuke.
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