NiKo: “I really think we’re ready for the pressure that this grand final will bring.”
Team Falcons CS2 rifler Nikola “NiKo” Kovač shared his expectations ahead of the event’s final in an interview at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, discussed his relationship with Finn “karrigan” Andersen, reflected on the pressure, the team’s preparation, and the significance of their achievements, and also spoke about Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo.
On his feelings ahead of the event’s final
I feel good, I’m happy, and I’m looking forward to the match. After all, getting another chance to fulfill my dream and win a Major—what could be better? I’m glad to be sharing this stage with such wonderful teammates. Throughout this tournament, we’ve done some truly incredible things, and I hope that continues today.
On my relationship with karrigan
I think we worked really well together even before this, up to a certain point. Now we’ve both matured a lot, and we’ve been able to find common ground. Each of us has become much more open than before, and we’re doing a great job of discussing any issues that come up and finding ways to resolve them fairly quickly. He trusts me completely, and I trust him. Working with karrigan is a pleasure, and I don’t think there are many captains in this game capable of leading a team to a Major final within sixty days of joining the roster. In this short time, we’ve already made it to two finals, and today is our third, so everything is going great.
On Pressure, Preparation, and Achievements
I truly believe we’re ready for the pressure that this Grand Final will bring. The only thing we need to focus on today is winning. There’s no need to dwell on rounds we lost unfairly or on temporary setbacks—none of that matters. We’ve made plenty of similar mistakes throughout the tournament, but not once has that broken us. We’ve always found the strength to pull ourselves together and bring the match to the desired outcome. If something similar happens today, we mustn’t let setbacks affect us any more than they normally would, just because of the stakes of this match. I have complete faith in my teammates; we’ve worked hard and put a lot of effort into overcoming various challenges. As you mentioned earlier, after karrigan joined the team, we started moving in the right direction, even though we lost both of our previous finals. Each of those matches was a very important lesson for us, and if we manage to win the trophy today, those past losses will fade into the background. Ultimately, it all comes down to enjoying the process. We’ve had an incredible run at this event, and I want the finale to be truly memorable.
On FalleN and FURIA
Of course, I want to express my respect for FalleN, who has been one of the greatest leaders of all time in his position for many years now. The history of our matchups has changed a bit now—if my memory serves me right, we haven’t faced FURIA too often lately, but we’ve mostly come out on top. This is a special time for him as well: the final year of his career, likely his last appearance in this arena, so both teams have a chance to experience incredible emotions following today’s match. The Brazilian club has shown some amazing CS at this tournament; the players have had virtually no problems on their way to the final. I think this gives their opponents a lot of confidence, so we need to be careful and not let them maintain and build on that momentum right from the start of the match. I have complete and utter faith that we’ll pull this off.
Team Falcons is currently facing off against FURIA in the grand final of the IEM Cologne Major 2026. At the time of this publication, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač’s team leads the best-of-5 series 2–0 in maps. If the “Falcons” manage to win the upcoming Inferno map, they will become the event champions and earn $500,000 in prize money.
