NiKo on the match at the IEM Cologne Major: “We knew we couldn’t expect an easy game against Team Vitality.”
Team Falcons rifler Nikola “NiKo” Kovač shared his thoughts in an interview at the IEM Cologne Major 2026 following the victory over Team Vitality and the “Falcons’” advancement to the tournament’s semifinals.
On the match against Team Vitality
It was a real battle. We knew we couldn’t expect an easy game against Team Vitality. It was a long day; we fought like crazy. I’m very proud of my teammates. We kept our composure—even though we were trailing in some close rounds toward the end, we stayed calm.
On the key rounds
We saved our weapons a few times. Even toward the end, we didn’t have the firepower we would have liked. But we put a lot of effort into those situations. If you’d asked me two or three months ago, I would’ve said that we’d have had much worse weapon setups in those rounds and might have lost the match toward the end.
On the team’s morale
We wanted to replicate the success we had in the group stage, and we did a great job today. I’m very happy for the team. A couple of months ago, Finn wasn’t with us, and now we’ve beaten the Major favorites and advanced to the semifinals.
On the reasons for Team Vitality’s loss
Maybe they respect us a lot, so they played a little differently. But we didn’t do anything special. Ever since G2 Esports, Ilya and I have always had interesting matches against them. So I’m glad we finally won.
Earlier, Team Falcons defeated Team Vitality in the quarterfinals of the IEM Cologne Major 2026 and advanced to the tournament’s semifinals. The “Falcons” closed out Anubis (13-11), lost on Inferno (11-13), and won on Dust2 (13-11). As a result, Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s team will face Team Spirit today.
