Team Falcons’ success and Team Spirit’s potential are the highlights of the latest episode of the Counter-Points podcast

Analysts Jacob “Pimp” Winneke and Duncan “Thorin” Shields appeared on the latest episode of the Counter-Points podcast. Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights in this article.

According to the analyst, Team Falcons has finally managed to resolve its in-game issues and establish team chemistry. Thanks to karrigan joining the team, NiKo has started performing better, and kyousuke has gained more self-confidence. Team Falcons claimed victory at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, despite their new captain’s poor rating. Following this result, the “Falcons” automatically became contenders for any trophy through the end of this year. However, Pimp cast doubt on Team Falcons’ long-term prospects with karrigan—the team still has a lot to prove before it can be considered the undisputed favorite in Tier 1 tournaments.

Thorin called Team Falcons’ run at the IEM Cologne Major 2026 the most challenging in Major history. Every one of the team’s matches was close, with the exception of the final, where FURIA failed to put up a decent fight against the “Falcons.” The journalist believes that kyousuke and TeSeS made significant contributions to the Falcons’ victory—the former posted the highest rating in the tournament’s playoffs, while the latter demonstrated incredible form in the decisive matches. For his part, NiKo played at an average level for most of the tournament but managed to rack up a high rating against Team Spirit and FURIA, thereby earning the Major title.

According to Thorin, Team Vitality will continue to hold the No. 1 spot in the world rankings next season, while Team Spirit will become even stronger with hally’s return. However, Team Falcons made a name for themselves at the recent Major and will also be among the favorites.

Pimp stated that zonic had a major impact on Team Falcons’ victory at the IEM Cologne Major. Together with karrigan, the coach helped the “Falcons” reach their full potential. Nevertheless, the analyst believes that with a team like this, zonic should have achieved even more.

Looking at the Dane’s career, he has won six Majors with three different rosters. The coach had to adapt to each team, and despite this, he managed to achieve success with every roster he led. Pimp appealed to the community not to downplay zonic’s achievements—all critics should take a look at the coach’s track record and stop doubting his competence.

Thorin believes that Team Spirit could have won the recent Major. In his opinion, the lack of a coach and tN1R’s inconsistent form contributed to the “Dragons’” loss to Team Falcons in the semifinals.

As for hally, the journalist considers him an excellent mentor. It is thanks to him that magixx was able to fully replace chopper as Spirit’s captain. Nevertheless, Thorin is concerned about the coach’s current condition—he doesn’t believe that a common illness could have led to missing several tournaments in a row and requiring urgent hospitalization.

The analyst said that Team Spirit currently has the greatest potential among all Tier 1 teams. Its players are already in good form, so working on their mistakes during the offseason could help the “dragons” become the best team in the world.

Earlier, host James “BanKs” Banks spoke on the All About Counter-Strike podcast about the roster changes at Gaimin Gladiators, assessed the changes to PARIVISION’s lineup, and reflected on Alexander “s1mple” Kostylev to the Tier 1 scene.

Photo: StarLadder.