“There was a lot of pain, but today it feels like it was all worth it” – NiKo reflects on IEM Cologne 2026 Major Triumph

Insider Gaming spoke to Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač after the legendary rifler claimed his first Major title at the IEM Cologne 2026 Major.

Falcons defeated Furia 13-8, 13-8, 13-8 in the Grand Final, completing a historic run which saw Falcons defeat G2, Monte, NAVI, Vitality, Spirit, and FURIA to make history in Cologne, finally delivering a Major title to one of Counter-Strike’s greatest ever players.

Insider Gaming interviews NiKo after Falcons win the IEM Cologne 2026 Major

You won the major, you lift the trophy, everyone is chanting your name. I think everyone knows what you’ve been through. How beautiful was that moment?

Definitely the best moment in my career, nothing can describe this feeling, I think everyone could see my emotions when I was walking towards the trophy, at moments I couldn’t believe that it was happening. At moments, I had a bit of flashbacks from 2023.

I went through a lot in my career; people that follow me know how hard it was, how much I’ve suffered. There was a lot of pain; I lost a lot in my career, but today it feels like it was all worth it, all of that was a lesson, and all of that was leading up to something great.

I just have a huge relief right now, and I hope that this is just the beginning.

Not only did you win the Major on Inferno, the site of pain in 2018, but you did so with a smile on your face. It felt like a different NiKo on stage. There was so much confidence. How did you feel?

I felt great, I felt great in the whole playoffs, I felt great going into each game, I had a huge trust in the team, and the team believed in me as well.

I felt like the team gave me the space to play the game that I wanted to play, I was aggressive and I needed to be aggressive, close out the rounds when I needed to close out the rounds,.

It’s a great feeling that I can be able to display such a game in the biggest event in my life. I’m really happy with how I approached things throughout the whole major.

All of these things in the past, I think today, maybe not today, but throughout the playoffs, I kind of maybe cracked a code of what I need to do in order to achieve even greater things.

We were talking before the playoffs about you in those lurking positions, and I felt like you had so much impact in those roles today. Did you really have a feel for all of those things in this final?

Yeah, definitely, I did. When I feel confident, then it’s easier to make those plays as well, but it’s also thanks to Finn [karrigan] and the system that he has put me in.

I feel like I have more space to do those lurks if that makes sense. I just want to get better now with this role because this is the role that I have right now, and I think I can do even better than what I did at this event, with more confidence and more consistency.

I’m just happy that I could display such CS.

This is only 60 or so days into this roster. Do you still feel like you have a long way to go to develop within the team? How far can this team go?

I really don’t want to think too much ahead. I want to enjoy this moment because it’s been my dream, and I just need to collect my thoughts tomorrow and just enjoy it to the fullest.

I believe that this line-up, I believed in the very beginning when I joined Falcons that we can create something great, and today was a huge step towards it.

Now it’s a player break, so it might be hard to carry the confidence and the momentum towards the next event. But I have a huge belief in this team now, we have full trust in each other right now, and I just feel like everyone is feeling very comfortable in their roles, which is the biggest, biggest or the most important thing for the team.

If you look at Vitality, everyone is playing at a very high level, anyone can carry the game, everyone is doing his best, and I think with this line-up we can do the same.

Looking forward to a break and then back to work.

End of Interview

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