Credit: Bart Oerbekke ESL

Balkan All-stars – The best players from Southeastern Europe

We have tried to build a functional All-star team consisting entirely of players from the Balkan states.

2021-08-09 | @anespleygg

The Balkan states hold a rich history in Counter-Strike, especially in the early days when 1.6 was at its peak. A Bulgarian squad called Gplay.bg was the first real Balkan organization to compete against some of the world’s most elite teams in the early days of CS:GO. This team contained most of the previous players of HeadShotBG, who for years were considered the best Balkan team and without a doubt the best in Bulgaria. Throughout the years more talents from the Balkans emerged out on the big stage and cemented their name in the history of CS:GO.

The best example is G2’s superstar Nikola “NiKo” Kovac. The Bosnian beast has been considered one of the best players in the world for several years now, renowned for some of the sharpest first-bullet aim of anyone in the game. Even playing alongside some of the game’s legends, NiKo has always stood out as the primary carry on his teams. NiKo has featured five times on HLTV.org’s ‘Top 20 Players of the Year’, with his best placement being back in 2016 where he finished as the world’s second-best player.

Have a look at some of NiKo’s best plays and highlights from 2020

NiKo is a big inspiration for many players in the Balkans as he has won six MVP medals, multiple LAN tournament titles, and got top-three finishes in the player ranking. But NiKo isn’t the only player from Balkan who has become a well-known name in CS:GO. His cousin Nemanja “huNter-“ Kovac made his way into high tier Counter-Strike when NiKo was breaking records for the highest buyouts. The 25-year-old became known because of his talent that shined through, alongside his long-time partner Nemanja “nexa” Isakovic. The three mentioned players who currently are playing together in G2, a Balkan-majority squad, are also kicking off our Balkan All-Star team.

Balkan All-Stars

The three Balkan teammates from G2 are to find on our Balkan All-Star team, featuring the best players from Southeastern Europe. For the AWP role, we have picked Valentin “poizon” Vasilev from Bulgaria who is considered one of the fastest draws in the West. After exploding onto the scene with Windigo Gaming, the youngster landed a spot on Complexity’s Juggernaut squad and is currently one of CS’s most lethal marksmen. Pavle “Maden” Boskovic concludes the team and will serve as a rifler. Just two years ago, the 22-year-old was playing for a top-200 team, and it’s fair to say that he was a no-namer on the international stage. But today, the Montenegrin star has been a driving force behind GODSENT’s climb into the top 20. On Monday it was announced that Maden, alongside his former teammates in GODSENT, joined the new FunPlus Phoenix roster.

Nikola “NiKo” Kovac (Bosnia) Rifler | 23 years

Nemanja “huNter-“ Kovac (Bosnia) Rifler | 25 years

Nemanja “nexa” Isakovic (Serbia) IGL | 23 years

Valentin “poizon” Vasilev (Bulgaria) AWPer | 22 years

Pavle “Maden” Boskovic (Montenegro) Rifler | 22 years

2020 stats:

NiKo (G2)

1.18 rating | 86.1 ADR | Total kills: 4241

huNter- (G2)

1.12 rating | 80.9 ADR | Total kills: 3852

nexa (G2)

1.06 rating | 73.9 ADR | Total kills: 3567