karrigan Falls Ill Before Major Playoffs: Falcons Risk Facing Vitality Without Their Ideal Captain

Team Falcons are heading into the IEM Cologne Major 2026 quarterfinals in far from ideal conditions. Team captain Finn “karrigan” Andersen has fallen ill and will miss media day before the start of the playoffs. The match against Team Vitality is scheduled for June 19.

The situation looks especially tense because of the importance of the match. Falcons have already defeated Vitality twice in 2026 - at BLAST Bounty Season 1 Finals and IEM Rio 2026. But since then, the roster has changed: in April, karrigan replaced Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski, who is now listed as the team’s only substitute at the Major.

The problem is that it is currently unknown whether kyxsan is in Germany and whether he would actually be able to help Falcons if needed. Because of that, the most likely scenario looks harsh: karrigan may have to play against Vitality even while feeling unwell. In the worst-case scenario, however, we could even see Danny “zonic” Sørensen himself take Finn’s place.

Amid rumors about illnesses, Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov separately denied reports about having health issues. At the same time, illness has not affected only Falcons: Team Spirit’s Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia also missed media day due to feeling unwell, with Danil “donk” Kryshkovets speaking to journalists instead.

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The IEM Cologne Major 2026 playoffs will take place from June 18 to 21 at LANXESS Arena in Cologne. Eight teams will continue their fight for the title and a $1.25 million prize pool.