"CS2" IEM Cologne Major 2026, Green Eagle Falcons defeated FURIA 3:0 to win the championship. Niko, a 29-year-old player in the team, has been sharpening his skills for ten years and played in 17 Majors. This time he finally held the championship trophy in his arms, which moved fans.
Niko led his team to seal FURIA 3-0 in the Cologne Major final, ending the 3067-day wait. The 17th Major finally came true:
After 16 "broken dreams", finally the 17th time came
Before this championship, NiKo was the famous "tragic hero". Fans used the meme "A man only cries 19 times in his life" to detail the process of his past 16 Majors that ended in failure - including the epic comeback by C9 in the 2018 Boston finals and the 2021 Stockholm finals where the Sandhawks missed a good game with an empty gun. This time, he not only defeated his opponent, but also defeated the "runner-up curse" that had haunted him for many years.
His teammates and fans want to cry more than him
After the game, teammate m0NESY, who won the MVP award, said with tears in the interview: "First of all, I am happy for NiKo. I am twice as happy for him as I am for myself." The addition of the conductor's cousin karrigan (who became the oldest Major champion at the age of 36) is also considered to be the last piece of the Falcons' championship puzzle. NiKo himself later called out to all fans in his victory speech: "I am the best example of never giving up. Never give up on your dreams, it will be hard, but you will succeed."
Winning moment:
