Do not fear the man who has never failed, fear the man who has failed 100 times and gets back up.

That's not to say that NiKo hasn't succeeded and won't continue to, but that success is rarely a straight line of victories - and NiKo is aware of that.

"I try to take every loss as a lesson," says the Bosnian, as though he were a Buddhist monk. "I'm quite confident that if I make it to the final of the Major I'm not going to fail this time."

NiKo's self-confidence has never been an issue, unless one believes it to be his hubris, but there's a genuine tranquility to how NiKo carries himself and talks to us.

Michal Konkol

"I'm very confident for this Major, I think as a team we are very ready to play, we feel very good. As I said, all the last Major and finals have just been experiences and lessons."

That placidity and calmness shines through as NiKo mulls over the idea of what it would be like to win the Major.

"I think everyone would probably answer the same, it's just a dream for everyone. I think it would be really cool to win the last CS:GO Major, I'm sure it will be one the Majors that people will talk about for a long time because it is the last Major. It would definitely be cool to win the last one but it's one step at a time."

Michal Konkol

NiKo has oft been characterised by his one-track-mindedness approach to winning, that winning a Major is the only thing that seems to matter to him. It often rears its head in his general demeanour, but the laid-back answer to gave to the idea of winning displayed a new side to him.

The calm before the storm, perhaps.

NiKo's legacy

He was keen to push the idea that "even if [he] doesn't win a Major in CS:GO" that CS2 would be similar, and that he would "have a couple of years and Majors left to play before [he] retires", as if to ease the pressure and the building narrative.

For after all, this is the final CS:GO Major, and it would feel wrong for NiKo to leave the game with none of them.

NiKo, though, doesn't feel that way.

"In my opinion everything will be the same, I don't think anything will change and that all events will probably be run the same. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not, but that's how I see it as of right now."

Looking back NiKo believes that G2 were "definitely the best team in the world following IEM Katowice, but it's "hard to say" who is the best team in the world right now.

Michal Konkol

"I think we are definitely still up there together with Heroic and maybe Vitality, considering they just won Rio, and Heroic have been very consistent throughout the year. I wouldn't say we are the best team in the world but we are definitely up there, the team who wins the Major will probably be crowned as the best team in the world unless someone really surprises and a team like ENCE wins it."

It's clear that NiKo meant no offence by the mention of ENCE - in fact he meant it as a compliment to even be in the conversation.

"They are definitely a strong team, they always have events where they play really good. I think they can be very dangerous against tougher opponents, they struggle a bit more when they are favourites from what I've seen though. They are a dangerous team to play against and they can always make a deep run at the tournament, although I don't think they are favourites to win it."

Kid lightning

The final piece of the jigsaw for G2 was m0NESY, who NiKo maintains was basically always really, really good.

"As soon as he came he was already good, he didn't have a crazy development I would say. I think he just got more confident and comfortable within the team which took some time, also the communication in English plays a factor.

Michal Konkol

"He was really good from the get go, but now he is more confident in his place and overall he feels the game better right now. Having HooXi in the team also helps his playstyle, he's getting more freedom and he's going for more plays, he's on the right path."

With m0NESY on the warpath and NiKo feeling comfortable, there's nothing G2 can't do.

Forget what NiKo said - this is his last chance at a CS:GO Major, but he has no worries about winning it.