karrigan gave his first tournament with Falcons a near-perfect self-assessment, despite a 0:3 grand final loss to Team Spirit at PGL Astana 2026.

The Danish IGL told HLTV he would rate the team’s run “an 8 or 9 out of 10,” adding that only a trophy would have earned a full score. “For the preparation we had, for all the big changes we did on the T side, I think we can be satisfied,” he said.

Those changes came fast. karrigan replaced kyxsan on April 20, giving Falcons roughly eight days of structured practice before their first official match. The team went 3-1 in the Swiss Stage, with wins over K27, Monte, and The MongolZ offset by a shock 1:2 loss to 9z that included a humiliating 1:13 on Dust2.

The FURIA Game Changed Everything

The quarter-final against FURIA drew the highest praise from karrigan himself: a full 10 out of 10. Falcons defended seven match points across triple overtime on Nuke and double overtime on Dust2, grinding out a 2:1 win with final map scores of 22:20 and 19:17. TeSeS called playing under karrigan in those pressure moments “a joy,” saying the Dane “takes you under his wing” when games go deep.

From there, Falcons steamrolled magic 2:0 in the semi-final, with m0NESY posting a 1.68 rating and 26 kills in 18 rounds on Dust2 alone.

Then Spirit happened.

Spirit Shut the Door

donk showed up to the grand final with a 1.63 average rating through groups and playoffs. He didn’t slow down. Spirit took Dust2 16:12, crushed Mirage 13:7, and closed Ancient 13:10. karrigan finished the series at 32-56 with a 0.66 rating. NiKo went quiet. Even m0NESY, who had carried Falcons through the bracket, managed only a 1.00 in the final.

karrigan acknowledged the gap. “I think I could have done a different approach on Mirage,” he told HLTV. “I’m still trying to find the balance between giving freedom and playing with more structure as a team.”

His event-wide 0.73 rating is hard to ignore, but karrigan has never been paid to top the scoreboard. The question is whether his leadership can convert talent into trophies. So far: close, but not there.

Shanghai and the Road to Cologne

Falcons arrive at the CS Asia Championships 2026 as the highest-ranked team in the field, world No. 4 per HLTV. karrigan opens against BC.Game and s1mple in a best-of-one today. He told HLTV he expects to win, but noted the format leaves no margin for error.

He also made clear that the Cologne Major remains the real target. Falcons will bootcamp for five days before the event, go home briefly, then head to Germany. “We need to be as ready as possible for Cologne,” karrigan said. “With a trophy in hand, that would be very nice.”

Falcons before the Cologne Major need one thing they still don’t have: a win. Shanghai is the next chance to get it.