CS2 Analyst Accuses NiKo of Ruining the Game with Superteam Trend
Serbian analyst and former BLEED Esports Counter-Strike 2 coach Aleksandar "kassad" Trifunović, on the "Last Free Nation CS" podcast.
The Death of Classic Rivalries
Trifunović nostalgically recalled times when fans followed battles between cohesive teams, not just a collection of names.
Era of Legends: Kassad cited rivalries like Astralis vs. Liquid (2019) or the Swedish derby NiP vs. fnatic. These were matches where philosophies and styles clashed.
Current Reality: Now, according to the analyst, the scene has turned into chaos where "superteam plays against superteam." As a result, the team that assembles the best players wins, like Vitality does, while others are left with nothing.
"In that sense, NiKo killed CS because he started this whole superteam thing, constant team changes, and all that crap," Kassad concluded.
Context of the Criticism
The analyst's words come amid another failure of NiKo's own "super roster." Recall that on January 25, 2026, the star-studded Team Falcons sensationally lost the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 tournament final. Kovač's team was crushed by the Russian organization PARIVISION with a score of 0:3, despite being the favorite.
Recently, PARIVISION player Ivan "zweih" Gogin assessed the significance of the victory over the star-studded Falcons roster in the final of the past tournament. The esports athlete noted that even after the crushing 3:0 score, the team has not yet reached its peak and is capable of demonstrating higher-quality play.
On the eve, the PARIVISION roster confirmed its excellent form by defeating HEROIC at the start of the championship in Krakow, thanks to the efforts of Jame and nota. This success solidified the status of the team that just a few days ago sensationally crushed Nikola Kovač's superteam in the battle for the trophy.