Gizmy after Monte’s elimination from the Major: “In the end, we lost on the absolute finest of margins.”
Rifler Monte Jack “Gizmy” von Sprekelsen, in an interview at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, summed up the team’s performance at the tournament, discussed key mistakes in the match against The MongolZ, and outlined the team’s plans for the near future.
On the match against The MongolZ and being eliminated from the Major
Well, obviously, I’m not feeling very good right now. After all, we lost by the slimmest of margins. And overall, there were a lot of matches like that in this tournament—where we were very close—but this one is especially frustrating. We were in a good position on CT, 11-10, and just a few details didn’t go our way.
On the team’s plans
Our season isn’t over yet. We still have a tournament in China—the XSE Pro League 2026. We’ll be heading there in about two weeks. Most likely, we’ll take a short break after that, then get back to practice, and then give the players a longer vacation. So you’ll see us in action again. Those are the general plans.
About the fans
Thank you all for your support. It really means the world to us. Personally, I get a lot of support, and my teammates feel it too—the whole team is very grateful for it. We’ve all obviously been through various comebacks; many of us grinded our way up the Tier 3 scene, and often what you do online just goes unnoticed. But gradually we made it to LAN tournaments and now to these Tier 1 events, and the support has been amazing. We really hope to keep delivering good results to make our fans happy.
Earlier, Monte concluded their run at the IEM Cologne Major 2026. In the elimination match, Jack “Gizmy” von Sprekelsen’s team lost to The MongolZ 1-2 and finished in 12th–14th place, earning $20,000 in prize money.
Photo — PEW PEW.
