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Watching and writing esports since 2014. Previously wrote for Dexerto, Upcomer, Splyce, and somehow MySpace. Jack of all games, master of none.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/counterscottGO"],"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/scott-robertson"}]}},"raw_content":"In October 2020, G2 Esports did what it does best: breaking out the checkbook to acquire an esports superstar. This time, it came in the form of the Bosnian sensation Nikola \"NiKo\" Kova\u010d, considered one of the world\u2019s best CS:GO players from FaZe Clan. The goal for G2 was simple: Inject a superstar talent into a roster that was considered one of the world\u2019s best just a few months prior to reverse a recent slump. But as the team approaches the six-month mark since signing NiKo, it\u2019s clear that they haven\u2019t reached the lofty expectations that have been set. G2\u2019s star player hasn\u2019t been shy about shouldering the burden, either. \u201cThe way I\u2019ve played over the past three months, it\u2019s definitely not what I expected,\u201d NiKo told Dot Esports. \u201cI expected to play much better. I\u2019m not performing the way I\u2019m supposed to. I\u2019m not delivering the numbers the team needs.\u201d The first couple of events looked promising for the new-look G2 roster. In November, they came in first in their BLAST Fall group with a 2-0 win over Astralis. They then reached the semifinals of IEM Beijing Online: Europe, falling to Natus Vincere. But the team failed to capitalize on that momentum and haven\u2019t made a deep run in any of the events they\u2019ve participated in since. G2 felt another change was needed, so they benched longtime AWPer kennyS, moved NiKo to an AWP\/rifler hybrid role, and reinstated Audric \"JaCkz\" Jug into the starting lineup. \u201cHe brings so many good things,\u201d NiKo said of JaCkz. \u201cHe\u2019s a very supportive player and a really good entry fragger. Both he and AmaNEk can entry frag so the rest of the guys can follow behind and clutch the round. He adds to a good atmosphere as well. He and huNter- have really good chemistry; they just understand each other.\u201d G2 already look a step ahead since JaCkz\u2019s return. This year, their record was 11-13 with kennyS and it\u2019s 10-7 since JaCkz was brought back. That may be a small sample size and only a minimal improvement, but the biggest change is in the team\u2019s mentality. Nemanja \"huNter-\" Kova\u010d said that JaCkz\u2019s return felt like a brother coming back\u2014and his actual family member is happy with the state of the team post-reunion. \u201cOne thing I\u2019ve noticed since bringing JaCkz back in is that we click better,\u201d NiKo, huNter-'s cousin, said. \u201cI think everyone feels more confident in their roles. In general, the will to win is somehow much higher than it was. We\u2019re OK with the result from our first event [with JaCkz], but at this one we have to show more.\u201d In their most recent event, G2 made the playoffs of ESL Pro League season 13 following a 3-2 performance in their group. In the opening round of the playoffs, they rebounded from a 1-0 deficit with two straight close maps on Vertigo and Inferno. They ended up earning a top-eight placing after falling in two maps to FURIA. NiKo thinks the biggest problem that affected G2 was consistency, saying that the team either looked \u201creally good or really bad,\u201d with no consistency established. But he\u2019s excited for the prospect of competing in the BLAST Spring Showdown, despite teams that have troubled them like Liquid and Astralis looming in the distance. \u201cWe were in an adjustment period for a long time, and now at this event, we\u2019ve figured out how we want to approach the game,\u201d NiKo said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be tough to get through to the final round, but if we find our consistency, then we\u2019re going to be really dangerous.\u201d G2 will begin the daunting single-elimination bracket with a series against Endpoint, a team that finished 2-3 in the Pro League with wins over Fnatic and Evil Geniuses. Endpoint just cracked the top 25 on HLTV for the first time. That series starts at 8:30am CT on April 13 after OG vs. Astralis opens the Showdown.","apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/12123929\/niko-at-blast.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384453"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/928"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384453"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":384609,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384453\/revisions\/384609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384453"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=384453"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=384453"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=384453"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=384453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

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Watching and writing esports since 2014. Previously wrote for Dexerto, Upcomer, Splyce, and somehow MySpace. Jack of all games, master of none.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/counterscottGO"],"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/scott-robertson"}]}},"raw_content":"In October 2020, G2 Esports did what it does best: breaking out the checkbook to acquire an esports superstar. This time, it came in the form of the Bosnian sensation Nikola \"NiKo\" Kova\u010d, considered one of the world\u2019s best CS:GO players from FaZe Clan. The goal for G2 was simple: Inject a superstar talent into a roster that was considered one of the world\u2019s best just a few months prior to reverse a recent slump. But as the team approaches the six-month mark since signing NiKo, it\u2019s clear that they haven\u2019t reached the lofty expectations that have been set. G2\u2019s star player hasn\u2019t been shy about shouldering the burden, either. \u201cThe way I\u2019ve played over the past three months, it\u2019s definitely not what I expected,\u201d NiKo told Dot Esports. \u201cI expected to play much better. I\u2019m not performing the way I\u2019m supposed to. I\u2019m not delivering the numbers the team needs.\u201d The first couple of events looked promising for the new-look G2 roster. In November, they came in first in their BLAST Fall group with a 2-0 win over Astralis. They then reached the semifinals of IEM Beijing Online: Europe, falling to Natus Vincere. But the team failed to capitalize on that momentum and haven\u2019t made a deep run in any of the events they\u2019ve participated in since. G2 felt another change was needed, so they benched longtime AWPer kennyS, moved NiKo to an AWP\/rifler hybrid role, and reinstated Audric \"JaCkz\" Jug into the starting lineup. \u201cHe brings so many good things,\u201d NiKo said of JaCkz. \u201cHe\u2019s a very supportive player and a really good entry fragger. Both he and AmaNEk can entry frag so the rest of the guys can follow behind and clutch the round. He adds to a good atmosphere as well. He and huNter- have really good chemistry; they just understand each other.\u201d G2 already look a step ahead since JaCkz\u2019s return. This year, their record was 11-13 with kennyS and it\u2019s 10-7 since JaCkz was brought back. That may be a small sample size and only a minimal improvement, but the biggest change is in the team\u2019s mentality. Nemanja \"huNter-\" Kova\u010d said that JaCkz\u2019s return felt like a brother coming back\u2014and his actual family member is happy with the state of the team post-reunion. \u201cOne thing I\u2019ve noticed since bringing JaCkz back in is that we click better,\u201d NiKo, huNter-'s cousin, said. \u201cI think everyone feels more confident in their roles. In general, the will to win is somehow much higher than it was. We\u2019re OK with the result from our first event [with JaCkz], but at this one we have to show more.\u201d In their most recent event, G2 made the playoffs of ESL Pro League season 13 following a 3-2 performance in their group. In the opening round of the playoffs, they rebounded from a 1-0 deficit with two straight close maps on Vertigo and Inferno. They ended up earning a top-eight placing after falling in two maps to FURIA. NiKo thinks the biggest problem that affected G2 was consistency, saying that the team either looked \u201creally good or really bad,\u201d with no consistency established. But he\u2019s excited for the prospect of competing in the BLAST Spring Showdown, despite teams that have troubled them like Liquid and Astralis looming in the distance. \u201cWe were in an adjustment period for a long time, and now at this event, we\u2019ve figured out how we want to approach the game,\u201d NiKo said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be tough to get through to the final round, but if we find our consistency, then we\u2019re going to be really dangerous.\u201d G2 will begin the daunting single-elimination bracket with a series against Endpoint, a team that finished 2-3 in the Pro League with wins over Fnatic and Evil Geniuses. Endpoint just cracked the top 25 on HLTV for the first time. That series starts at 8:30am CT on April 13 after OG vs. Astralis opens the Showdown.","apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/12123929\/niko-at-blast.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384453"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/928"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384453"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":384609,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384453\/revisions\/384609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384453"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=384453"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=384453"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=384453"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=384453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Rokurou

Photo by Igor Bezborodov via StarLadder<\/figcaption><\/figure> <\/div>

\u201cOne thing I\u2019ve noticed since bringing JaCkz back in is that we click better,\u201d NiKo, huNter-‘s cousin, said. \u201cI think everyone feels more confident in their roles. In general, the will to win is somehow much higher than it was. We\u2019re OK with the result from our first event [with JaCkz], but at this one we have to show more.\u201d<\/p>