IEM Cologne Major Sets New Counter-Strike Viewership Records

IEM Cologne Major 2026 set new records for peak viewers, average viewers and Hours Watched, drawing more than 2.76 million peak viewers and surpassing 100 million Hours Watched. Team Falcons defeated FURIA 3-0 in the best-of-five grand final to claim the organization’s first Major title.

The tournament in Cologne established the highest recorded totals for the three main viewership metrics tracked for Counter-Strike events. The peak concurrent audience exceeded the previous high that had stood since 2021, and the event became the first Counter-Strike tournament to pass the 100 million Hours Watched mark. The prior single-event high was roughly 76 million Hours Watched. Organizers said finalized viewership figures and a full event report will be published within 24 hours.

Falcons advanced to the final after wins over NAVI, Team Vitality and Team Spirit. FURIA entered the title match unbeaten in the tournament but failed to win a map against Falcons, who controlled each map in the series to complete a 3-0 sweep.

The win produced Major firsts for Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov. Finn “karrigan” Andersen recorded his second Major title; he previously won the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 and reached multiple Major finals while with FaZe Clan. Karrigan left FaZe in April 2026 and captained Falcons to the championship two months later.

The event took place in Cologne, Germany, and ran across the tournament’s scheduled playoff days in 2026. Tournament organizers and viewership trackers reported the new audience highs as the largest on record for a Counter-Strike event across the cited metrics.