Despite having a strong team at his disposal, the fact that Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen is a stand-in had led many experts to believe that OG would struggle to progress from the European RMR and book themselves a spot at the BLAST.tv Paris Major.
Although they didn’t make it easy for themselves with a 0-2 start, niko’s OG squad bounced back to qualify 3-2 with wins versus SAW, 1WIN, and Falcons.
After the RMR, we got the chance to talk to niko about the event, his growth as an IGL, and his excitement regarding the future of Counter-Strike with the impending release of Counter-Strike 2.
niko: I am beyond happy atm. We obviously came into this Major with expectations to make it, but to see those expectations come to fruition was a lot of relief and excitement at the same time that I haven’t felt in a while.
niko: It’s reaffirming for sure that I am capable of delivering results in a short amount of time. But other than that, I’m not really thinking about the achievement any differently just because I’m a stand-in. I have adapted to the role as IGL, and it feels like we play like a solid roster that I’m a part of for the time being.
niko: We knew it wouldn’t be easy at the RMRs at any point. We went into the first games with a lot of nerves, but as soon as we went 0-2 we tried to change our mental approach. We knew we had to fight from behind. So we all agreed to go into the games with the mentality of nothing to lose, everything to gain.
niko: I haven’t given it much thought other than it’s always cool to go up against legends of the game. As soon as it’s a Major on the line everyone gives it their all and we were no different when facing Falcons.
niko: We weren’t really surprised for better or worse in terms of the opponents we faced. But to see teams like FaZe not qualify straight away wasn’t something I expected. Other than that, teams are getting better and better, so it’s a pleasant surprise to see so many upcoming teams proving they have what it takes to compete with the established teams.
niko: It would be a dream to play in front of a live audience again in the last CS:GO major. So going to the playoffs would be a fantastic feeling and result for all of us. But we will take one step at a time and see where that brings us
niko: In the beginning, my focus was mostly on enabling others to perform while keeping the strategies simple. But as we progress as a team, a lot of the learning has been about reading the game from a new perspective, while also doing more specific strategies depending on the opponent.
niko: There is always room for improvement, and I’m always looking to get better at the role I play on any given team. What I’m currently working on is playing at the individual level I know I’m capable of while being the best possible IGL I can be.
niko: There is no doubt in my mind that the change to CS2 will do a lot for the entire Counter-Strike scene. There already is a lot of chaos when it comes to the top of the CS, there’s no clear number one team that you know for certain will win the trophies. So I can only imagine this will be shaken up even further as soon as tournament organisers decide it’s time to switch to CS2.
niko: It’s very exciting! I think it’s what Counter-Strike needs, not to say that there is anything wrong with CS:GO, but the new game comes at a time where it feels like the pro scene could use it to revitalise how the game is being played.
OG and niko will play ENCE in their first match in the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023: Challengers Stage.
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