Will G2 get off to a strong start with nexa at BLAST Premier World Final?

Many people were surprised by G2's recent decision to bench jks.

The Aussie superstar was instrumental to G2's rise to the top, and with a 1.06 HLTV rating and 54 1vX wins in 2023, it's hard to say he was a problem in the team.

His replacement, nexa, failed to cause much excitement, and if you've been keeping up with CCT Online Finals 5, you'll know that G2 looked shaky as they were eliminated in 5th-6th place.

A disappointing result, many will be using that as a reason to dunk on G2 for making the move they did, but we think they'd be foolish to think that way.

Here's why:

Photo: Michal Konkol

The trial run

G2's participation was never about winning the event, even if expectations based on the quality of the squad would suggest it was.

Instead, G2 playing in CCT was more about bedding in their new man, a task that won't be as simple for them as it was for Vitality with mezii.

mezii and Magisk are far more similar players than jks and nexa, and figuring out the shape of their new team before World Final was going to take a lot more than just a boot camp.

Of course, G2 will still be disappointed by their losses to Aurora and Guild Eagles, and the manner in which they dropped a map to Sprout is also cause for concern, but as Scoobster said, CCT was purely a time for experimentation.

The G2 we see at World Final is bound to be a vastly different G2 to the one we saw in CCT, and people shouldn't be so quick to forget everything good the international squad has going for it.

NiKo is the greatest rifler in Counter-Strike history and when he is on fire, anything can happen. We've seen him carry G2 far in tournaments before, and back then he didn't have m0NESY.

We haven't seen too much of the baby GOAT in CS2 thus far, but what we have seen has been incredibly impressive. Despite the losses in CCT he still managed to put up a 1.15 HLTV rating and at IEM Sydney, the team's only LAN in CS2, he was the highest-rated player at the event with a 1.38 HLTV rating across seven maps.

Photo: Stephanie Lindgren

That's without mentioning huNter-, G2's formidable third star. A constant threat even on a bad day, huNter-'s ability to read mid-round situations is unmatched, and it's impossible for him to go without impact.

Sure, nexa may not have the star potential of jks as that fourth piece, but he is no slouch either. Once regarded as a fragging IGL, he could become far greater now that he is released from the shackles of leadership.

In truth, BLAST Premier World Final may still be too soon for G2 to claim a trophy, but they will pose a dangerous threat to anyone they face.

NiKo and m0NESY are inevitable, and so too will be G2's rise back to the very top of Counter-Strike. Our world champions are coming back to Abu Dhabi to defend their crown, and no one should underestimate them.