Considering how long OG has been in CS:GO and the stars they have had at their disposal, it still feels odd to say that this is only their second appearance at a Major.
Now with an entirely different lineup than the one they signed when they entered the game, a roster refresh a year ago saw them sign F1KU and neofrag, two players who had made names for themselves in their national scenes in tier two.
While it took a while for both players to settle in tier one, things were looking to be on an upwards trajectory following the arrival of star AWPer degster.
However, as IGL nexa stepped into a period of inactivity due to personal issues, former player niko had to return to step into the all-important role as the team’s captain. A difficult role to step into in any team, and even more so when it’s niko’s first time playing as an IGL, F1KU says that he thinks the team will “always have a bit of a disadvantage” while the team remains as it is.
“He is not the in-game leader in the sense that the building blocks and bones are not from him. But we are kind of covering it up with our aim and we are just trying to out-aim the opponents while doing the tactics,” F1KU told BLAST.tv.
Since coming into the team, however, the job niko has been doing has been commendable. Although none of their results are amazing, there hasn’t been much of a drop off than with nexa.
“I feel like he fits well in the IGL role,” NEOFRAG said. “I would say nexa is a better IGL because he has done it for longer, but they are on the same level in some ways.”
“I think he is actually developing a lot since he has been working a lot with the coaches and I think it really gives him a lot. Especially with Casper [ruggah], our main coach, he speaks Danish so he can explain more things in Danish for niko. I think it is just easier to learn it in your own language,” F1KU added.
With extensive backgrounds in the tier two scene, both F1KU and NEOFRAG should be commended for their adaptation to tier one. A leap that many players fail to make, they have both become players who have found their place within the space.
However, big results and underdog victories from tier two are becoming a staple of modern CS:GO, and NEOFRAG says the gap is now only “experience” and that “skillwise they are on the same level”.
“I think the biggest thing that a lot of people don't see is that it is easier for tier 2 teams to play against tier 1 teams since they play a lot more maps so they know more stuff on the maps, it's just that tier 1 teams punish the small mistakes from my perspective,” F1KU told BLAST.tv.
F1KU even suggests a reason as to why tier two has been having so much success recently, stating that tier two might even be “harder” to play in. “In tier 2 you can watch a team change from one playstyle to another between games because they have to. If they want to win, they have to play against a lot of styles.”
When it’s clear to see that tier two often surprise the tier one teams because of these stylistic advantages, it may end up that one of the few advantages OG can get will come from the recency in which their two stars played within that scene.
Adaptation will be key, especially with their IGL being as a stand-in, but if they can do so, then the team could easily reach their goal of the Legends Stage.
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