2022 ended on a high note for G2 with the win at BLAST World Finals. But until then the year had been almost disastrous for the star-studded roster, who had to make several roster changes during the year, where a failed qualification for the IEM Rio was the big downturn.
– 2022 was honestly a tough year. A lot of disappointing results. I would even argue that it was one of the worst years of my career. Apart from winning BLAST World Finals, it was a very shaky year. We have done a lot of mistakes on the server and outside the server. So, it was not amazing.
m0NESY on NiKo as a mentor: He made me do things that I didn’t want to do and he’s right
Despite his own emotions about the year, Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač ended up winning HLTV’s Opener of the Year award and was ranked the fifth-best player of 2022.
– I was happy with it, but I am not sure that I fully deserve it. But considering the year and how it went, I am more than happy with the placement that I got.
It was the fifth time in his career, that the 25-year-old NiKo has been ranked among the best five players in the world. His best placement was in 2017 when he came in second. But is there still a chance for him to become the best player in the world?
– I will do my best. But I think it is harder now with m0NESY on the team. We are giving him a lot of space. He needs to shine. He is definitely a star player. He deserves all the space that he gets. I think it’s just much harder for me to perform as I did in 2020 with the old lineup. I think I can definitely do better than what I did last year, but I am not sure it is enough to become the number one player.
G2 will face BIG on Friday in the opening round of Group C at BLAST Spring Groups.
You can see the entire interview with NiKo down below, where he also talks about m0NESY, and what he expects from the youngster in 2023.
