NiKo: “Once again, I’ll say this about my team—they’re amazing.”
Dan Kleiman
Team Falcons CS2 rifler Nikola “NiKo” Kovac, in an interview at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, spoke about the support he received from his loved ones throughout the tournament, assessed the team’s mindset heading into the final match, and commented that the decisive match turned out to be fairly “straightforward.”
On the support of loved ones
Of course, my loved ones are a big part of all this success. You know, my family has been through a lot with me, especially my fiancée. She was a real hero to me at this event and helped me out a lot. She’s aware of all the problems and difficulties I faced in past tournaments, when I couldn’t perform at my best during the most crucial moments. She was incredibly supportive throughout the entire championship, especially during the playoffs, and most of all today, in the final. It means a lot to me that my loved ones were here, sitting right in front of me while I was playing, and I could see each and every one of them.
About my team
Once again, I’ll say this about my team—they’re amazing. We did something incredible today, defeating our opponents in the final so cleanly and decisively. I could never have even imagined this, and I’m incredibly proud of each and every one of them. The mindset we had in the final game was simply amazing.
On the “easy” victory in the final
No, no, no—I certainly wouldn’t have wanted five maps and a bunch of overtime periods in the final, absolutely not. I’m fine with the score we won by, and I’m very glad we were able to close out the series on Inferno. I won’t lie: when we started playing on this map, I had some flashbacks, but we managed to stay focused, and I’m happy with how it all turned out.
Yesterday, Team Falcons defeated FURIA 3–0 in a best-of-5 series at the IEM Cologne Major 2026 to claim the event title. Nikola “NiKo” Kočević’s team earned $500,000 in prize money for first place. For the Bosnian player, this was the third Major final of his career; he had lost the previous two.
Dan Kleiman
