Falcons Esports has claimed the No. 1 spot on the HLTV World Rankings for the first time in its history. The Saudi-backed organization secured the top position after a commanding 3-0 victory over FURIA in the IEM Cologne Major 2026 grand final on June 21.
The win marked a historic personal achievement for Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, who captured his first Major title on his 17th attempt. He was supported by teammates karrigan, TeSeS, m0NESY, and kyousuke.
The tournament shattered viewership records for competitive Counter-Strike, peaking at over 2.75 million concurrent viewers.
In the updated rankings released June 22, Falcons climbed to the summit after previously sitting at No. 2 behind Vitality. Notably, the organization achieved this milestone without any blockchain sponsorships, a sector that collapsed after the FTX scandal left many esports teams scrambling for revenue. Falcons relied instead on stable, long-term backing from its ownership group.