The Grand Final of the IEM Cologne Major 2026 will feature Team Falcons and FURIA. The teams approach the decisive match in different moods: Falcons have a series of lost finals behind them, while FURIA has not lost at the tournament at all.
For Team Falcons, this is not their first final in 2026, but previous attempts ended in defeats – the team lost in decisive matches to Legacy, Team Spirit, and PARIVISION. In Cologne, the team has defeated Natus Vincere, Monte, Team Vitality, and Team Spirit and will try to finally secure the first major in the organization's history. A separate storyline is the path of Nikola "NiKo" Kovač, who is reaching his third major final in his career and has yet to win any.
FURIA approaches the final undefeated: the Brazilians confidently passed through the group stage and playoffs, defeating 9z and Aurora Gaming along the way. In the only head-to-head series in a best-of-5 format in 2026, FURIA came out on top, although Falcons won all four shorter encounters.
Even during the playoff qualification stage, NiKo jokingly compared the path of Falcons to FaZe's final run at the major in Budapest.
Nikola "NiKo" Kovačin an interview with HLTVWe joked a bit with Finn, as their path to the final in Budapest was also crazy. So who knows, maybe we'll repeat something similar. Maybe with a slightly different outcome in the final.
The Grand Final between Team Falcons and FURIA will take place on June 21 at 18:00 Moscow time in a best-of-5 format. The winner will receive $500,000 and the title of champion of the first major of 2026.
Let us remind you that earlier Team Falcons and FURIA reached the grand final of the tournament.
