Karrigan rumored to join Team Falcons ahead of IEM Cologne Major 2026

According to the French insider KRL and HLTV, FaZe Clan’s IGL Finn “karrigan” Andersen is rumored to replace Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski on Team Falcons CS roster for the upcoming IEM Cologne Major 2026.

This roster move follows FaZe’s failed Hail Mary to qualify for the upcoming Cologne Major 2026.

Collecting Infinity Stones - Karrigan replaces Kyxsan

For a stacked roster like Team Falcons, Karrigan coming in as the IGL instantly upgrades the roster. His immense experience of dealing with superstars and ability to improvise mid-rounds complements the firepower-heavy Falcons.

Not to mention, Falcons’ map pool also matches that of Karrigan’s usual map pool. So if Karrigan joins the Falcons, the move looks promising on paper.

However, the real question here is whether a roster change this close to the Major is really necessary? And is Karrigan an upgrade from Kyxsan?

Kyxsan and this iteration of the Falcons roster have played for almost 8 months now but they have failed to secure a single Tier 1 trophy. The closest they came was immediately after adding kyousuke.

They did take down Vitality earlier this year in a Bo3 but lost the trophy to PARIVISION. Their results haven’t been bad but haven’t improved in 8 months despite the level of talent on the roster.

Karrigan’s ability to lead rosters in desperate situations is arguably stronger than Kyxsan’s. Also, the Dane is known for his ability to work with ad hoc rosters and has found success playing with substitutes in the past. If the Falcons want an instant upgrade ahead of the Major, Karrigan is the best available option.

The Falcons’ new IGL has also previously worked with Zonic and NiKo on Astralis and FaZe respectively, but it was another game and a different era.

Can Team Falcons actually play Karrigan at the Major?

The official deadline for team registration for the Cologne Major 2026 is April 13th, tomorrow. Meaning if the two organizations can work on the contracts, Karrigan can register as a substitute for the Falcons for the Major as long as ESL/Valve approve.

However, if the Falcons fail to register before tomorrow, they have to play with their original core at the Major. Fortunately, contracts are where Falcons thrive and it’d come down to ESL/Valve’s approval.

If Falcons secure Karrigan, their roster at the Major will be:

Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač
René "⁠TeSeS⁠" Madsen
Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov
Maksim "⁠kyousuke⁠" Lukin
Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen (IGL)
Danny “zonic” Sørensen (Head Coach)

Whether this Hail Mary from the Falcons actually pays off with a Major trophy for NiKo remains to be seen. But it’d definitely be an exciting Major to look forward to.

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Featured Image Credit: PGL

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