NiKo: “m0NESY is the present and future of CS:GO”.

As all the CS:GO competitive scene followers already know, since the end of 2022 and so far in 2023, G2 Esports has swept away all the rivals it has faced.

The samurais found the secret formula to lead them to victory and finally fit the necessary pieces to make a star-studded lineup work.

G2 Esports and its supremacy in recent months

G2 Esports won the BLAST Premier World Finals in December, defeating Team Liquid in the final to end a five-year title drought. But that was not all, as they carried that good momentum into the beginning of the year, taking the crown at the IEM Katowice 2023.

Now, in an interview on a podcast called Talking Counter, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač talked about the team’s success and much more. In addition, NiKo took the trouble to make incredible statements about his experience alongside CS:GO “wunderkind” Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov.

In episode 33 of the above podcast, we heard more than typical talk about CS:GO. While much of the conversation revolved around the Bosnian star of G2 Esports, NiKo couldn’t hide his absolute admiration for his teammates. Especially about m0NESY, whom NiKo defines as the future of CS:GO, and the present of Valve’s shooter.

According to NiKo, m0NESY looks like a veteran player

While this may not impress all of us who closely follow the career of this young CS:GO star, having a teammate, and much more experienced player says, so it does. NiKo mentions that he has found working with m0NESY over the past year very useful, as in addition to giving him advice, he has learned a lot from the young Russian.

While many say that m0NESY is the future of CS:GO, NiKo assures that he is already the present, as the quality that the 17-year-old has shown in his first year as a professional has been spectacular. Moreover, he has made excellent impressions on fans and figures such as NiKo himself and Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev.

NiKo mentions the young Russian’s skills in training and talks about his excellent day-to-day performance and capabilities with the AWP. NiKo said:

“In practice, he (m0NESY) is outstanding, but when he plays in FACEIT and speaks Russian, he can even be an IGL (In-Game Leader). The way m0NESY understands the game and speaks is amazing!”

On the other hand, NiKo gave some glimpses of what m0NESY’s daily preparation is like. The Russian player is known for having several hours in CS:GO, which for many are exaggerated due to his young age. NiKo said:

“I think when we finished our match yesterday, he came in and played FACEIT until 5 am. For me, and many, it’s tough to play that much and be happy, but m0NESY does it.”

NiKo wants m0NESY to take on a leadership role

Finally, NiKo mentioned that he wants the young Russian to take on more of a leadership role, especially on the CT side, where he would be better able to project everything that happens around him. NiKo told an anecdote:

“We are sitting behind Cloud9 while they were playing, and we were warming up, and I heard a voice talking a lot. I didn’t know who it was, so I asked m0NESY who it was. he told me it was Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov. So that’s what I want for m0NESY, for him to control the game, especially on the TC side, where he can constantly project everything around him.”

Header: G2 Esports