NiKo to lower-tier teams: “You don’t know what real grind is”.

In the last few hours, we have seen how the community has been attacking different Tier 1 teams in the CS:GO scene after Tier 2 teams outclassed them. Because of this, many people consider that the big teams in the scene are privileged to attend top-level events without needing complicated qualifiers.

To all these comments, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, one of the G2 Esports players and one of the best in the world, has come out in defense of his team and the rest of those who make up the so-called ESL and BLAST franchises.

The fact that some Tier 2 teams outperform large organizations does not mean that some are more deserving than others. It just tells us that the level of CS:GO has risen and that, consequently, every battle in every tournament, be it main or qualifier, will be better and more competitive from now on.

NiKo defends himself via Twitter

After several comments on social networks about Tier 2 CS:GO teams having to fight with sweat and tears to qualify for a Tier 1 tournament, and they don’t even know if they will be able to attend, NiKo has taken the baton to give a strong response. But first, we must remember that NiKo is a veteran in the CS:GO scene, having been competing at the highest level for over ten years.

In the three Tweet threads by NiKo, we can see how the G2 Esports player exposes his point of view in this situation. First, NiKo said he struggled to get to where he is today. In addition, he also points out that several years ago, there was no possibility of playing Tier 2 tournaments, let alone Tier 3. But on the other hand, NiKo says that today there are many opportunities (thanks to the organized recurring qualifiers) to participate in Tier 1 events.

For those of us who have been following the professional CS:GO scene since its beginnings, we can think along the same lines as NiKo. However, several years ago, the different qualifiers didn’t exist, let alone the great opportunities within them for teams to qualify for Tier 1 events.

Franchise teams do not fight in closed qualifiers

Some in the community claim that Tier 2 teams don’t excel more than Tier 1 teams because they don’t attend top-level tournaments more frequently. For example, these events have partner or franchised teams in the EPL and BLAST Premier. This means these organizations have enough money to pay their way on the circuit.

On the other hand, Tier 2 teams must fight in different qualifiers to be able to participate in those events. In the Majors, it is completely different because being a tournament organized by Valve means there will be open qualifiers, so we can expect any surprises.

A European Paris Major RMR with many surprises

During the European RMRs for the BLAST.tv Paris Major, we observed many surprises regarding Tier 2 teams that qualified for the Major over some Tier 1. Teams like BNE, 9INe, and Monte did not play the IEM Katowice 2023, the EPL S17, nor the BLAST Premier Spring Groups and still sealed their ticket to Paris over Astralis and Virtus.pro (outsiders).

In addition, both BNE and 9INE qualified directly to the Legends Stage of the Major, while FaZe Clan and Cloud9 are fighting for the last place in the Major (to the Challengers Stage) in the Last Chance Qualifiers.

Besides NiKo, other veteran players think the same as the G2 Esports player. For example, Dan “apEX” Madesclaire and Christopher “dexter” Nong, both IGLs from Vitality and MOUZ, respectively, supported NiKo’s Tweet.

A partnership or franchise system means that the CS:GO and, subsequently, the CS2 circuit may not change shortly. Both BLAST and ESL have their revenue through franchised teams.

However, as long as Valve is in charge of sponsoring all Majors in Counter-Strike 2, any team in the world, be it Tier 1, 2, 3, or even Amateurs, have a chance to attend a tournament at the highest competitive level.

Header: Helena Kristiansson | ESL