G2 Esports tops BLAST group as new addition NiKo dominates

G2 Esports newest addition Nikola “NiKo” Kovač proved that he is the signing of the year in BLAST Premier Fall Series 2020. 

G2 is already starting to deliver after adding former FaZe leader NiKo, which has clearly brought a boost to the team’s individual level. NiKo was previously acting as the in-game leader on FaZe for a while, making it hard for him to perform at the individual level that he has been known for a few years ago. 

G2 was playing in the same group as Astralis, MiBR, and FURIA in BLAST Premier Fall, fighting for a spot at the big BLAST Premier Fall Finals later this year. With very little practice with NiKo, G2 didn’t enter the group as a favorite but managed to surprise along the way. 

NiKo and the rest of G2 started out by facing FURIA, who had been performing well in North America before traveling to Europe for BLAST. As one of the highest-ranked teams in the world, it was expected that FURIA would take the victory but G2 had other plans. With the Kovač cousins leading the troops, G2 picked up a 2-0 victory and started their impressive run. 

G2 did stumble in the next game against Astralis, even though NiKo had one of his best performances of his career. NiKo got a total of 38 kills on Dust2 and an ADR on 135.1, in a map that they won 16-11. Sadly for G2, they lost the two other maps to the Danes. 

NiKo finding old form after joining G2 Esports

After fighting their way back, G2 ended up playing the deciding match against Astralis for the first seed in the group. Even though both teams had secured a spot at the BLAST Premier Fall Finals, a lot of honor was on the line. G2 wanted revenge against Astralis and managed to get it. 

Once again, NiKo was the deciding factor against the Danes but this time it was enough to take the victory. G2 won over two maps, where NiKo fielded a 104.2 ADR and an impressive 1.51 rating. He also had a big impact on the server, with several crucial clutches to carry his team to victory. 

With NiKo off to a great start on G2, it seems like the team has the potential to go all the way. G2 has gone from being a solid playoff contender in most tournaments but had needed the extra gear to lift the trophies. NiKo might be the one to push G2 over the edge and looks to be the CSGO signing of the year.   

G2 Esports is back on the server for IEM Beijing-Haidian 2020 on November 12.