Falcons reach IEM Cologne Major final after win over Spirit

Falcons defeated Spirit 2-1 in the IEM Cologne Major semifinal in Cologne, with two maps requiring overtime. The win earns Falcons their first Major final appearance. They will face FURIA in the grand final on June 21, 2026.

The series began on Falcons’ pick, Anubis. Falcons won the opening pistol round after a triple kill from Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov and the half ended 6-6. Falcons captured the second pistol following a strong round from Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin, but Spirit stabilized on the CT side. A late clutch from Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov gave Spirit match point. Falcons forced overtime and took the map 16-14 despite multikills from Danil “donk” Kryshkovets and sh1ro.

Mirage swung in Spirit’s favor. Falcons opened with an 8-1 run led by captain Finn “karrigan” Andersen, but Spirit recovered to level at 6-6 and then strung together seven straight rounds to close the map 13-8.

The decider on Dust2 remained close. Spirit won the first pistol and led 7-5 at half after Falcons failed a 2v4 post-plant. Falcons claimed the second-half pistol and gained momentum after a 1v2 from René “TeSeS” Madsen. Spirit forced overtime, but Falcons won four consecutive rounds in extra time to take Dust2 16-12 and the series 2-1.

m0NESY finished as Falcons’ top fragger across the series, with Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and kyousuke also posting significant contributions. For Spirit, sh1ro led his team in kills and produced several clutch moments.

Falcons reached the final after a quarterfinal victory over Vitality and improved on their previous Major result, a quarterfinal at the StarLadder Budapest Major. The appearance is the first Major final for the Falcons organization and for players m0NESY and kyousuke. It is René “TeSeS” Madsen’s second Major final, NiKo’s third and karrigan’s sixth.

After the match, karrigan told the broadcast, “We just have to follow through what we’re doing. This team is so good; I said when I joined, this team is special… When we’re getting the highest pressure you can get, yesterday from Vitality, today from Spirit, we can withstand that pressure.” Spirit rifler Boris “magixx” Vorobiev reflected on the season, noting recent improvements and looking ahead to future events.