BLAST Slam 4: skiter out with hand injury, Satanic to stand-in for Falcons

Team Falcons carry player Oliver “skiter” Lepko will be absent from BLAST Slam 4’s online phase due to a hand injury, as announced by the organization itself on their official X account.

Falcons broke the news just over an hour before the group stage games were set to start, and they went on to say that PARIVISION’s Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov will be replacing skiter for the duration of the online segment.

From one world class carry to another

On one hand (pun absolutely not intended here), this is some sad news indeed, and I wish skiter a speedy recovery from his injury. Falcons did not specify the exact nature of the injury, but given the repetitiveness of motion involved in esports as a whole, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were something like carpal tunnel syndrome or a strained ligament or something along those lines.

Roster update: Due to a hand injury, Skiter will be unable to participate in the BLAST Slam IV group stage. Satanic will serve as his substitute for this phase of the tournament. We thank Paravision for their assistance in making this roster adjustment possible, and we extend our… https://t.co/T0NXekOiNr

— Falcons Esports (@FalconsEsport) October 14, 2025

You hate to see players get sidelined by things like this, but I’m certain that the Falcons organization will have their medical staff helping skiter out right away.

On the other, wow — talk about going up the ladder here. Falcons are already the reigning International champions, and now they also get the best carry player in the world standing in for them in the first major tournament of the new competitive season. I am in no way, shape, or form saying that skiter is significantly worse than Satanic, mind you, but how is it even fair that they’re getting a better player in replacement?

I’m kidding, of course. It’s Satanic’s prerogative on whether or not he wants to play as a substitute, and it’s not Falcons’ fault that he might have been the first one to answer the call. Now that he’s on board, though, Falcons will be even tougher to beat at this event, and I’m thinking they’re a lock for that guaranteed semifinal seed with this new development.

Whether or not skiter will be healthy enough to play at the LAN segment in Singapore is still up in the air, so maybe we’ll even see Satanic in a Falcons uniform in November.