Despite being one of Counter-Strike’s most compelling figures, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač rarely does long-form interviews. At events, he’ll offer insightful analysis about his team and opponents, but the curtain has rarely been pulled back on his legendary decade-long career—until now.
With content creation becoming an increasingly lucrative avenue for brand building, NiKo has launched his YouTube channel. His latest upload? An unprecedented deep dive into the career that has shaped modern Counter-Strike: the collapse of FaZe’s superteam, his peak form with G2, and the complex negotiations that brought him to Falcons. CS2 desk staple Freya Spiers conducted the interview, starting with the most pertinent question: why now?
“There were times before, especially after I left G2 and joined Falcons, when I wanted to make a statement about why I made certain career decisions, but I never found the right moment.”
From Belgrade LANs to FaZe’s million-dollar move
NiKo’s path to the top began in his family’s PC cafe in Brčko, Bosnia—a business that shaped his entire career but closed last year. “We kept it for a few years mostly for the memories, but after COVID most people had PCs at home, the business ran very low, and it didn’t make sense to keep it,” he said, noting it was a hard decision for his father.
Those early Balkan LANs—24-hour Belgrade marathons and Sarajevo finals played while locked in a cafe—forged him into one of the sharpest players in the game. By 2017, the prodigy went from an a Bosnian newcomer, to Counter-Strike’s hottest commodity with MOUZ. When asked about the legendary transfer fee that accompanied his move to FaZe, NiKo confirmed the eye-watering (for the time) amount. “As far as I remember it was between 500 and 750 thousand dollars with some Major-related bonuses.”
Related—FaZe’s Karrigan: We chose NiKo over ScreaM
“I don’t think I fully rewatched it until recently” NiKo on Boston
Seven years on from FaZe’s infamous collapse, Boston still dominates the discussion in NiKo’s career. While his teammates, Finn “karrigan” Andersen and Håvard “rain” Nygaard, have gone on to win majors with FaZe, NiKo still remains Counter-Strike’s greatest player without a championship.
“That final was rough for the team’s mental state, and even though it feels long ago, people still mention it so often that it doesn’t feel distant,” NiKo said. FaZe choked on Inferno, “struggling to find solutions to Cloud9’s utility-heavy style.” One moment haunts him most: “A key round at 15–12 where we failed to trade tarik on A and probably win the Major.”
Related—Cloud9 conquer FaZe Clan in the ELEAGUE Major: Boston grand final
But that shouldn’t have been the end of that utterly unstoppable FaZe roster. Sure a result like that will raise questions in the team, but some of the greatest rosters in history have emerged from hardships. NiKo believes the final nail in the coffin was the lack of resources like performance coaches.
“I regret that we didn’t have resources like performance coaches to help rebuild trust, because I believe we could have stayed together longer and maybe built an era.”
“Looking back with more experience, I think we were very poor at communicating openly, giving and receiving feedback, and we lost confidence in each other while talking behind backs instead of in the room,” NiKo admitted.
Related—FaZe officially bench karrigan
The roster underwent many changes over the year, with NiKo taking the reigns as IGL. And while much has been made of his influence over the team’s roster moves, particularly in the case of Marcelo “coldzera” David and Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjærbye, the interview left those key questions unanswered.
COVID ultimately delivered the final blow for the NiKo-FaZe partnership. “During COVID we had poor results, constant roster changes, and I was IGL under nonstop pressure while stuck at home playing event after event, which became too much mentally,” he explained. “I felt I had no more solutions in FaZe, and when G2 approached me it felt like the right moment to change my environment.”
A new peak for NiKo—Stockholm 2021
NiKo’s move to G2 united him with cousin Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač. And the team delivered its crowning achievements in 2023 with wins at both Katowice and Cologne—two trophies that finally added prestige events to his resume. “Before winning Katowice and Cologne in 2023, I’d been playing professionally for seven or eight years without those titles, and one year completely changed how my career looks,” he said.
But when asked about his absolute peak, NiKo’s didn’t go for the trophy-laden 2023. Instead he picked the second half of 2021, during G2’s Stockholm Major run. “I felt great, had high priority in the team, and our synergy and work made me very comfortable.”
While everyone clamored to give Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev and NAVI their flowered at Stockholm, NiKo’s similar display of individual brilliance flew under the radar. And that was with the underpowered G2 roster that featured François “AMANEK” Delaunay and Audric “JACKZ” Jug.
“It felt like G2 didn’t show strong interest in keeping me”
The Falcons-NiKo saga dragged on for over a year until the Bosnian finally joined the team in 2025. But in the interview NiKo explains that negotiations had begun all the way back at IEM Sydney 2023, the first ever CS2 LAN.
That, is also the event where Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken made the decision to leave FaZe. And curiously enough, the two had nearly the same reasons for wanting to leave.
It was mainly the feeling that they just presented the offer and said, ‘You decide,’—NiKo
“I initially said yes [to Falcons] because it felt like G2 didn’t show strong interest in keeping me—nobody really asked if I wanted to stay or discussed changes,” he revealed. The organization never fought for him. “It was mainly the feeling that they just presented the offer and said, ‘You decide,’ without really talking to me about staying, reasons, or potential changes. That made me feel they were fine without me.”
Yet, it was G2 not Falcons who secured the Bosnian’s services for 2024. The decision for NiKo largely came down to the partnership system that existed at the time. “We couldn’t build a strong enough lineup in Falcons at that time to compete for trophies, and they also didn’t have partnership spots for events,” he explained. Without tier-one access and unable to assemble a championship roster, the project couldn’t compete with the likes of G2.
Related—CS2 star NiKo is reportedly leaving G2 following Shanghai Major
“I wouldn’t give up my roles for many players […] maybe only [kyousuke] and donk”
NiKo’s journey with the Falcons began in 2025 with the Abdulkhalik “degster” Gasanov-Emil “Magisk” Reif roster. And while that roster put the focus entirely on NiKo himself, the team has since added a few more superstars. First joined Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, NiKo’s protege from G2, picking up the big green. But even that move wasn’t enough for trophies.
So the team bought out the most exciting rookie in CS since Danil “donk” Kryshkovets himself, Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin. Had it been 2015, a rookie like kyousuke would have been thrown to the wolves, forced to fend for himself with little support from his team. But NiKo has been a superstar himself, and understands his teammate needs. In the pursuit of trophies, NiKo surrendered his roles to the Russian rifler.
“Past NiKo probably wouldn’t have given up those roles”
“I wouldn’t give up my roles for many players, but Maksim is one of the few—maybe only him and donk—that I’d do it for, because it raises our chances to win trophies,” NiKo said. The concession wasn’t necessity—it was philosophy. “My priority is team success, so stepping back in certain positions made sense to maximise our overall level.”
When asked about how he himself has developed over the decade of play, NiKo made a poignant remark. “Past NiKo probably wouldn’t have given up those roles, because when I was younger I focused more on my crosshair and killing everyone, whereas now I can’t stop thinking about what’s best for the team.”
The admission reveals a transformed player. Counter-Strike’s greatest rifler, now sacrifices personal glory for his team’s success.
“This feels like the team that will stay together long term.”
Despite consistent rumors to the contrary, Falcons have committed to the current roster heading into 2026. And NiKo repeated that sentiment in his interview saying, “This feels like the team that will stay together long term.”
While the temptation of “one more superstar” will always loom large, NiKo remains bullish on the team’s success predicting even better results this year. Whether that prediction will pan out remains to be seen. Individually though, NiKo’s story provides an arc of development that superstars rarely undergo. Many fall off the map entirely before ever admitting that someone else might perform better in their positions. Perhaps this selfless version of NiKo can be the one that finally brings home the major trophy that his cabinet sorely lacks.
