본문 : DOT ESPORTS - Owen Harsono

He's him.

Photo via PGL

Though NiKo’s frustrations came to a boil in G2’s clash with Vitality at the CS2 BLAST Premier Fall Finals, breaking his desk and drawing blood turned out to be the elixir they needed to pull off a comeback to secure their spot in the grand final.

Vitality stormed through the group stage to meet G2 in the semis, and after the two teams traded map picks, it came down to Mirage to decide which one would advance. 

https://x.com/BLASTPremier/status/1840073018439053582

It was a back-and-forth affair, with the most memorable moment coming after Vitality secured an 8-7 lead. In the following round, Vitality secured four kills straight to put NiKo in an impossible 1v5 situation on the T side, not even having the bomb plant secured just yet. 

Having pinched the Bosnian into a corner at Bench with, Spinx, ZywOo, and flameZ swarmed his position, only to get their heads snapped by his AK in a matter of seconds. 

The Bosnian superstar created a winnable 1v2 situation out of thin air, leaving mezzii and apEX as the final two hurdles. After slipping through the cracks, NiKo picked off mezzii and placed himself in a favorable 1v1 post-plant situation against apEX on B. 

Despite having the positional advantage, NiKo whiffed what would have been one of the greatest clutches in CS2 history, as Vitality’s IGL saved the round for his team. With all the pent-up pressure and emotions, NiKo slammed his desk in frustration, punching a hole in his desk and drawing blood from his hand. 

Though NiKo’s hand was bleeding, the match continued, and he went straight into the next round with impactful kills to put G2 back on the board. Only after that did the BLAST staff call a technical timeout to treat the injury.

It seemed like the Bosnian star’s heroics wouldn’t be enough for G2 to mount a successful comeback, as Vitality found themselves three map points to the good. However, the team didn’t let their star rifler go through all that without a win, and G2 strung together three in a row to bring the series into overtime. 

After trading rounds, NiKo pulled off a crucial 1v3 clutch to propel his team to complete the comeback and a spot in the grand final, finishing the series with a 1.47 rating. 

However, the job is not yet done, as G2 must go through the winner of FaZe vs. NAVI to lift the trophy in Copenhagen.