NiKo

Facts about NiKo

Nikola "NiKo" Kovač is a professional CS:GO player from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He currently represents G2 Esports. He is regarded as one of the top players in CS:GO and has been on the annually HLTV Top 20 Players 6 years in a row, with a peak position of Nr. 2 in 2017. He has consistently been good and currently holds the record for most kills on a map at a Major tournament after scoring 52 kills against FlipSid3 Tactics at MLG Columbus 2016. NiKo is undoubtedly one of the best players to ever touch the game. With his smooth movements and godlike aim, he seeks to destroy his opponents by simply out-dueling them. Despite NiKo’s abilities on the server, he has a reputation of falling just short, as he has several semifinal exits and second place finishes at Major tournaments. He is hungrier than ever to win a Major and believes his best chances are with G2 Esports.

The early career of NiKo

NiKo has always been an ambitious player. He has always sought the highest level possible, and when he started, he quickly rose through the ranks. In 2015 he joined the German organization, mousesports. The roster was doing a good job, but after some time, the IGL role went to NiKo. The Bosnian had a hard time adapting to the new role, as he found out that there was a huge responsibility in being an in-game leader. In February 2017 he transferred to FaZe Clan. He was very thankful for the possibilities that mousesports provided for him, but he felt like it was time to move to a better team to try and become the best player in the world. As he said: “You can’t be the best if you are not on the best team”. NiKo was happy for the opportunity to join one of the best rosters in CS:GO and wanted glory from day one. He was happy that he finally could play the game without being an IGL.

NiKo’s time at FaZe

NiKo finally had teammates with world-class abilities and the team had some good results at high-profile events with NiKo snapping MVP’s. But when it came to the Majors, NiKo and FaZe didn’t get the results they wanted. At their first Major together, the team placed only 15th which was a huge disappointment for the new roster. The stars had to return home quickly and regroup before the next Major, the ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018. The second Major with the team went a lot better. They fought their way to the final where the North American team, Cloud9, awaited. FaZe won the first map of the bo3 and were looking confident in taking the North American team down to take home the big win. Cloud9 wanted differently though and won the next map, Overpass. The decider was one of the most iconic maps, Inferno. The tension was big as both teams didn’t want to give an inch to the other. The map went to overtime where Cloud9 was the best team and won the Grand Final in the end.

FaZe continued to be solid at S-tier events but failed to perform at the Major tournaments still. In 2020, G2 esports showed interest in getting NiKo on their roster and he quickly said yes to the offer.

Still seeking Major glory

NiKo teamed up with his cousin, huNter-, and together they were ready to take the CS:GO world by storm. They finally achieved the dream of playing together and after some time of adapting, G2 started getting some good results. The team continuously placed 3rd at big evens, and were looking for a tournament win when CS:GO returned to LAN events. NiKo and G2 were looking forward to playing in front of a crowd, but the team couldn’t continue their consistent results and started performing poorly regarding the expectations. The team wanted something new and put their trust in the upcoming superstar, m0NESY. The 16-year-old joined from NAVI Junior as he was looking for a team to compete against the best in the world. Together with NiKo and the rest of the team, they are fighting to win a CS:GO Major and want to be the best team in the world. Only time will tell if NiKo, m0NESY, and huNter- finally will win a Major, but they certainly have the abilities to do it.