CS:GO caster Scrawny was front and center for G2 Esports’ demise at the BLAST Paris Major on May 15, and he couldn’t put the result any better in his post-game remarks: “The guillotine in Paris drops on the head of the king who will never touch the crown.”
Scrawny is referring to NiKo, arguably the greatest rifler in the esports’ history, who exited the Paris Major alongside G2 in a shocking 1-2 loss to Fnatic in the Legends Stage.
Forced through Challengers Stage, G2 and their fans were breathing a sigh of relief after the team progressed to the Legends Stage with a 3-0 record. But they’ll come to rue their missed opportunities on the opening day of Legends, with best-of-one losses to Vitality and Bad News Eagles leaving the squad needing to reverse sweep their way through the best-of-threes to make the playoffs. Against Fnatic, they would ultimately fall flat.
Related: G2 CS:GO player takes responsibility for early Paris Major elimination
Despite a dozen appearances and coming oh-so-close to tasting victory on multiple occasions, NiKo will wrap up his CS:GO career without a Major trophy in his cabinet, with G2’s loss the talk of the community following the match. One fan succinctly summed up NiKo’s career at Majors with a curt “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.”
Some paired him with famed Slovakian sniper GuardiaN, who, like NiKo, was unable to claim a Major victory despite leaving a lasting legacy upon Counter-Strike. Both played for FaZe Clan at the ELEAGUE Boston Major in 2018, finishing second behind North American squad Cloud9. Others believe the Bosnian rifler was “cursed”.
NiKo himself was at a loss for words in his post-game interview with James Banks. “I cannot think of anything, in particular, we did wrong. [Fnatic’s] adaptation to our game was really good,” adding G2 had prepared for the Vertigo pick and were surprised when Fnatic opted instead for Ancient.
He added poignantly he felt like he “obviously didn’t deserve any of those previous Majors,” but vowed to begin “a new chapter in Counter-Strike 2.”
Aside from G2’s tournament life, many lamented their lost Pick’Em Challenge selections, with most originally relying on G2 to keep their hopes of a diamond coin alive.
For those who remain in the hunt for the elusive coin, many more will fall with NaVi playing FaZe on May 16’s final Legends matchday. FaZe takes on NaVi to open the final round of Legends in Paris at 4:30am CT on May 16.
