Karrigan joins Falcons two months before Cologne Major

Falcons signed veteran in‑game leader Finn “karrigan” Andersen fewer than two months before IEM Cologne 2026 in Germany. The organization replaced a five‑player lineup that had played together for almost a year. The roster change left limited time for role adjustment and preparation ahead of the Major.

Teams have made late roster changes at past Majors for a range of reasons, including drops in individual form, stalled team dynamics and a desire to change results before a high‑stakes event. Organizations have described some swaps as short‑term fixes for a single Major and others as the start of longer restructures.

At BLAST Austin 2025, FaZe brought in Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev on loan and removed Helvijs “broky” Saukants from the lineup. s1mple produced notable high‑impact maps, including a 1.89 rating in a match against HEROIC and an all‑headshot three‑kill pistol round, but he also posted low ratings in other matches, including a 0.75 rating in a progression match versus 3DMAX. FaZe advanced to the playoffs in Austin.

Earlier, Team Liquid recalled s1mple for ESL One Cologne 2016 while their roster was still changing. Liquid reached the Major final. The run included series wins over top opponents and several standout individual plays by s1mple; the team finished the event with a loss to SK in the grand final.

Virtus.pro added Evgenii “FL1T” Lebedev to their roster before PGL Stockholm 2021 in what the organization described as a temporary change aimed at improving Major results. FL1T played slowly at first, then improved over the course of the tournament. Virtus.pro reached the quarter‑finals and the core lineup later recorded a Major title at IEM Rio the following year.

MIBR competed at StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 without Marcelo “coldzera” David after he requested to be benched. The team won one match at the event, a game against Ninjas in Pyjamas, and lost group matches to ENCE, G2 and Natus Vincere. The Brazilian core did not sustain high‑level results later in 2019 and split before the end of the year.

Falcons’ signing of karrigan joins these precedents of last‑minute Major changes. Karrigan described FaZe as going “all in” ahead of the Austin event when discussing an earlier temporary signing. The Falcons announcement follows a period of inconsistent results for the club’s previous lineup and leaves the new IGL limited time to install calls, assign roles and conduct practice before the Cologne Major.