nicoodoz on his hybrid style: "The big difference in OG is that it's been accepted here"

OG's new AWPer is getting more comfortable with the Big Green but has the freedom to play as he chooses.

Two-time Major quarter-finalist Nico "⁠nicoodoz⁠" Tamjidi is ready for his sixth Major in his new OG project. "I'm as excited as I was for the first one," he tells HLTV.

The difference is that he is now the young team's veteran, joining the team in April after hearing "good things" about Christoffer "⁠Chr1zN⁠" Storgaard and Christian "⁠Buzz⁠" Andersen and passing his trial with flying colors.

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OG confirm nicoodoz addition

In OG, the Dane has eight events in a row above a 1.12 rating and is able to put his hybrid style — often going without the AWP on T side — to use in a team where that is accepted.

"I play in a funny way on T side compared to some AWPers," he continued. "So it's been a bit hard for [Chr1zn and Lambert] to adapt to that but they're doing a really good job and we're all happy about the team right now."

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Your sixth Major, how does it feel to be here?

Coming back for the sixth time but it always feels great, I'm as excited as I was for the first one. I'm ready to come and do my best.

What's it like being the veteran in terms of major experience in the team?

It's kind of a new experience for me as a player, I've never been the most experienced in a team. I'm just coming in with a new mindset, more of a leader mentality. And I think a lot of people on the team look up to me in that way and I have to look at the way I behave, especially when we're going to play games at the Major. Ready to do that role.

Tell me a bit about joining OG, of course phrased as a trial at the beginning, maybe for both sides, but what was the process like?

I was always excited about the project, especially with the Danes on the team. I've heard a lot of good things about them in general, so I was really excited to come and play. I didn't look too negatively at the trial part, it was like 'ok, if I'm good enough I'll make it.' So, I was very confident in my ability and here I am.

Chr1zn especially gets a lot of praise in the community so can you give any insight into why he's so highly rated?

I think he deserves the praise he gets. The best part about him is his mindset, he's really good at adapting and taking information in. He's not scared to have a conversation about CS on a high level. I think when I came into the team I had a lot of big opinions on how I want to play, how the team's going to work.

Me, him, and especially Lambert have been doing a good job at integrating that in a way we are all happy with the way that we are playing right now. It's a mix of everything, I play in a funny way on T side compared to some AWPers, so it's been a bit hard for them to adapt to that but they're doing a really good job and we're all happy about the team right now.

Personality wise, could you compare him to a past IGL or something? What's he actually like as a leader?

You wouldn't think he's 18-years-old, that's the first thing I would say. He takes a lot of responsibility on him as an IGL, a leader in the team. He's really mature for his age, that's the biggest thing. He keeps his head high, he's being a good leader, he's not afraid of saying 'guys, now we need to fucking step up,' stuff like that. He can be hard at times and that's what you really need out of a leader, someone who's ready to be a bad guy as well.

Going back to your own game, we know you're very happy on the rifle, but how has it shifted since the start of CS2. You're what, 30% AWP kills in OG, has there been any conscious changes since Preasy and HEROIC?

I think it's just me as a player getting more comfortable with the AWP over time. I've never had the mindset, 'I shouldn't play with the AWP because it's bad,' it's about what's comfortable in the moment. If you look at different games there are some I AWP more and some I AWP less, it's all about how I feel. Maybe we need an AWP and I don't feel like using it.

It's feeling dependant but also prep, is it good to play an AWP against these guys, is it needed? That's what I like to look at, where can I exploit these guys with an AWP and where can I play a rifle. I'll always think about those scenarios because if I'm against an aggressive AWPer who likes to take peeks then obviously I need to bring out the AWP to lock him down, otherwise my riflers are going to get abused. With time I'm feeling more comfortable with the AWP and I'm definitely going to bring it out.

What's that like, if you're the one deciding, 'this will be a rifle game, this will be an AWP game?' Has that always been the case or is that related to OG?

It's always something I wanted to do. The big difference between other teams and OG is that I think it's been accepted here, that I can play whatever I want. I respect other people's opinions as well, I've had Chr1zn sometimes go like, 'get an AWP, let's do this.' He always sets up plays for me, so for example if I hadn't thought about it he'll say 'let's do this.' It's a good mix, and I can tell him I want to get an AWP next round, stuff like that.

The other Dane, obviously Buzz. Bit weird it's his first Major with Astralis and everything, but how he's adapting to the OG environment?

He's a great player to have in your team. He's very selfless, he doesn't take much space up in the team. When he takes up space it's something really valuable he brings, 'we can do this on my side, we can do that,' or on CT sides he says 'I'm fine playing alone here,' or saying he needs help. What he brings is really valuable because we've got a lot of big voices with me, Chr1zn, and spooke.

On spooke, can you expand a bit on his role. Traditionally of course it's the aggressive star being the second caller, is he able to do that being quite young?

He's doing a great job, honestly. He's really taking the role to him, I would say being the main guy apart from me on the team of course. He's turning into the star rifler we need on the team. The score doesn't matter, 11-11 for Major playoffs I still expect him to make a call, 'I want to fucking do this.' I just want to hear confidence in his voice and I know he'll go get me a kill, at least.

How's the team been feeling? 2025 has been a bit of an online slog, highs with CCTs and lows too, how is your prep coming into it?

We're treating it like any other tournament with the prep and stuff like that...

No special bootcamp or anything like that?

... I mean we had a bootcamp, a week full of practice, fine-tuning all the maps, looking at our weaknesses. It's simple stuff in a way, we want to get as comfortable as possible on as many maps before the Major. Now, we're just going to play our game and trust what we have been building on.

How hard is it to prepare for these global teams. We see OG from the outside as one of the teams that should make it through but how hard is it on the inside against teams you don't play very much?

It can be hard at the times. Some teams play a, what you would call, crazy type of Counter-Strike, very unpredictable. It's all about keeping your head cool, and having the mindset that they're going to go through smokes, make some plays you won't agree with completely, but it's CS and anything can happen. Especially in CS2, it's way more individual-based than team-based. Some of the teams are gonna shoot hard and you've just got to be ready for that and show up with your highest level of inidividual performance.

Finally, what are the expectations? Do you think just making it through Stage 1? Is there a specific goal?

For me personally it would always be nice to hit playoffs again. I think it's going to be a really long road especially with the extra Swiss stage but we've got to take it one stage at a time. We definitely expect to go through Stage 1 and then from there anything can happen because a lot of good teams are going to show up.

Date	Matches
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 Stage 1
03/06/2025	Complexity 17:30 OG	Match