NiKo: "XTQZZZ is really good at bringing us back when we're down"

Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač spoke to HLTV.org about G2 making it to the Spodek arena, facing Virtus.pro in the quarter-finals, and pressure on Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov ahead of the youngster's debut in front of a big crowd.

After making it through the BLAST Premier Spring group stage, G2's new lineup has continued to impress at IEM Katowice, as they have advanced to the playoffs despite getting off to a poor start at the tournament with a loss to fnatic.

In their final game, they beat Astralis on two convincing maps in a big recovery from the start to the series, which saw the Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen-led squad drop an 8-0 lead on Ancient.

After the final match, we got a hold of NiKo to talk to him about G2 stepping up in a big fashion on Dust2 and Inferno to lock in the spot in the arena.

"I went confident going into Dust2 and our coach, he's really good at bringing us back," the Bosnian star said. "He really has a good mentality and good approach when we're down. He knows what to say and how to bring us back, and he's the big reason why we came back in such a fashion."

He went on to comment on the Virtus.pro matchup in the quarter-finals, and his expectations of how 16-year-old m0NESY will perform in his debut in front of a big crowd in the Spodek Arena.

"I think they got a bit overhyped, they got into playoffs by just beating NIP and Copenhagen Flames," NiKo said about VP. "I think we have a chance of winning versus them. We have more experience as well playing on stage, if we don't count m0NESY (laughs)."

"I don't doubt him [m0NESY] at all. I think if he's off to a good start, I think he will fucking shine. He's so fast and if he catches the fire, I think he will just keep going. I don't want to say it's all about the start, but as soon as he gets a highlight or some good kills, I think he'll feel confident because then the crowd will hype him up."