BLAST Premier: NiKo Shines in Debut With G2

The last group of BLAST Premier: Fall 2020 has given us a glimpse into the prowess of the new G2 Esports lineup. For the first time in months, Astralis have shown up with their original five and FURIA failed to perform in this international competition.

THE MIBR SUBS FAIL TO IMPRESS

The original MIBR core has dissolved and the players have exited the team. No one is left from the players who had once won Major trophies under Luminosity and SK Gaming. They had to find a replacement, quickly recruiting Raphael “cogu” Camargo and Lucas “LUCAS1” Teles. Leonardo “leo_drk” Oliveira and Vinicius “v$m” Moreira have been loaned out for the remainder of the year, joining the existing MIBR duo of Vito “kNgV-” Giuseppe and Alencar “trk” Rossato.

With about a week’s worth of preparation, MIBR certainly didn’t have an easy time setting up a proper game plan. But they surprised us with a map win over Astralis! Even though they lost the match on a 5-15 scoreline on Inferno later on, they showed up strong on the first two maps. Some of the players put up a fantastic display and kNgV- landed a 1.17 rating overall. This is even more impressive considering that he has taken up the leading reins in the Brazilian squad.

But their BLAST Group Stage performance wasn’t all positive. Even though a third place finish is great considering their preparation time, the substitute players aren’t really playing up to par. The discrepancy between trk, kNgV-, and the rest of the team is worrysome. Maybe MIBR haven’t found a fitting replacement for Gabriel “Fallen” Toledo and his former men just yet.

FURIA AREN’T READY FOR EU

Following their victory run through North America, FURIA have surely come to European soil with high hopes. In recent months, they have set themselves on top of their national compeitition and now had the opportunity to represent their continent in a direct confrontation with the Europeans. Well, their first impression has certainly not left us impressed.

G2 Esports had little trouble dispatching them on a 2-0 scoreline. The Brazilians failed to find an answer to their aggressive play, which was fueled by Nikola “NiKo” Kovač. At BLAST Premier, they didn’t even get a chance to face another European team, as MIBR swiftly removed them from the tournament in a Best-of-Three. So FURIA landed in last place and are now heading to the Showdown, if they want to have a shot at making the Finals bracket.

The first intercontinental struggle ever since the collapse of MIBR had taken place between Evil Geniuses and OG in Group A. There, the North Americans failed to impress as well and left their group in last place. So at the moment, Europe seems to be miles ahead in this race.

NIKO DEMOLISHES ASTRALIS

NiKo is back! Under FaZe, the Bosnian struggled with some issues and has now left the team to focus on his personal prowess. After all, he had quite a bit of additional work to do as FaZe’s shotcaller. Often times, his performance suffered under this heavy workload, which he now intends to chance in G2. Joining his cousin, Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač, he intends to tackle the top teams and is led by Nemanja “nexa” Isaković in this endeavor. Finally, he can work under a proficient and dedicated in-game-leader again.

NiKo needed a match to get warm. Facing FURIA, he ended up towards the bottom of the scoreboard, but then he brought out his carry pants versus Astralis. Despite G2 losing a 1-2 battle, NiKo pulled off a 1.40 rating with 80 kills, more than any other player on the server.

As the two teams met once more in the Grand Finals, NiKo was at the top again. A 1.51 rating helped him and G2 to a victory. Just days after his arrival, they have already beaten Astralis and secured a first-place finish. Maybe, G2 can break out of the pack with NiKo and compete with the absolute top teams.

ASTRALIS WORSE OFF WITHOUT ES3TAG

How can a player become a centerpiece of the most successful team of all time in such a short period? Patrick “es3tag” is without a doubt one of the key factors for their recent success. But now he is gone and Astralis struggled with beating an MIBR squad that hadn’t even existed a week before.

The vision of a rotating seven-man roster, which the coach had announced so loudly, hasn’t come to effect yet. Unlike Vitality, who regularly bring in their sixth man to replace various players, Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen has had to wait it out on the bench so far. Now that Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth is back on the server, es3tag likely feared to meet the same fate as Bubzkji. When Cloud9 rolled around the corner with a juicy offer, he instantly fled to a team that would guarantee him a starting spot and a star position.

So now, Astralis are back at the starting point. While they did make it to the Grand Finals, none of their matches were impressive by any stretch of the imagination and they show massive deficits. It is time for Bubzkji to step into the spotlight and shake up the old guard. But at IEM Beijing, Astralis will make use of the original starting five once again. Will they manage to impress or will the other European teams show them the exit door?