NiKo: “Anything but winning a couple of trophies this year would be disappointing”

Nikola “NiKo” Kovač is one of Counter-Strike’s greatest riflers. Over the last decade, he has consistently been among the game’s elite, although success has eluded him since joining Falcons at the start of 2025.

The team now find themselves in the Playoffs of BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026. With PARIVISION up first, we had the opportunity to catch up with NiKo and get his thoughts on the team’s mixed year so far, why ‘ego’ means different things to different people, the frustrations of playing with a stand-in, and more!

NiKo: “I can’t even say we’re going for a trophy right now, I think there’s better teams than us”

Daniel Morris: NiKo, results this year haven’t maybe been quite what you expected. Just talk me through what hasn’t quite clicked for you guys so far in 2026.

Nikola “NiKo” Kovač: Yeah, the results have been a bit shaky this year. I think what played a big part was this first event of the year where we had to play without Maxim [kyousuke]. We had a big bootcamp before the season started, and we have addressed a lot of things. We improved on other things, and then we went to the event without Maxim, and then we kind of… It felt like we took like one step forward and two steps back after that event. So that was very frustrating. Then obviously, Krakow lost a very, very close game vs. MOUZ, which obviously played a big part on our confidence. And then Cluj, I would say that the Group Stage has been very good for us. And then we fell kind of short again vs. PARIVISION, a game where I felt like we could have won or we should have won in two maps. So it’s been frustrating. It’s been a frustrating start to the season, definitely. Not what we expected. This event is super important for us to see the things that we have worked on, to see the development, the progress of the team as well. So… looking forward for the Playoffs here.

Daniel: I was taking a little look through the team stats, and I noticed that you’ve gone to overtime seven times this year. You’ve lost six overtimes, you’ve only won the one. What is it about going deep in those games that you’re not just able to see out?

NiKo: I’m not sure, I haven’t thought about it. I haven’t looked at those stats. I can’t even recall the games now and overtimes that we’ve had, to be honest. So, yeah, I think we can have this question for later on!

Daniel: That’s fine! When we hear about the team at the moment, it does feel like we hear one word quite a lot: egos. You know, you hear zonic in that video saying, “You need to put the egos aside for the team.” Is that something that you’d agree, maybe has been an issue for the team and how would you go about resolving it?

NiKo: Yeah, I think there’s obviously like different ways of explaining ego. And I think what we mean when we say ego, is more that like people should think more for the team rather than the kills. It’s not like someone like is just selfish, or he’s baity, or he’s toxic. We don’t have those issues. It’s just about players thinking more for the team in certain moments and the rounds. And this is something that we are trying to develop. Yeah, I mean, for me, it’s not even ego. For me, just, you know, developing players like Maxim. I think also Ilya [m0NESY] had a couple of hiccups together. It felt like it was like a bit of a domino effect. It felt like if someone does a mistake, it just kind of follows through. So this is something that we have tried to really focus on after Cluj and we tried to improve and it felt like it’s been better this event. I think these things can’t change overnight. This needs time. It needs a lot of repetitions. And the thing is, we don’t even struggle that much in group stage in these moments. So we just need to get to Playoffs and see how it plays out in these moments. So we’ll see how it goes here in playoffs in Rotterdam.

Daniel: We obviously saw NucleonZ play the first game of this event. That’s the second time he’s had to fill in for the team. How would you say that affects the team’s synergy for the event?

NiKo: Yeah, it’s been weird for this event because we didn’t know how long he will play with us. So it was just like you take it one game at a time. I think we were a bit fortunate that Maxim got actually in time and he got to play the rest of the event because we thought that it might take a bit longer for him to get the visa. Maybe we just get him for the Playoffs if he would have qualified. So it definitely shifts our expectations and the momentum that we have… It’s just very annoying that we had a long practice. Like we had three weeks of practice and then, you know, you come to an event and then you are not having your main player on the team. It’s very frustrating in these moments, but I think we handled it well. And yeah, he [NucleonZ] also did great. We could also see improvement from him from the first event in January. He improved a lot as a player, so that was cool. But it’s never nice to have a stand-in, you know, especially on such a short notice for the event.

Daniel: Your last game at this event, you had to fight through the lower bracket. You eventually qualify over FURIA on the back of a great CT side comeback on Nuke.  What were the main takeaways from that bracket that gave you the confidence that you can carry that momentum into these Playoffs?

NiKo: Yeah, as I said, the game was super important for us. You know, just beating FURIA, who has obviously been one of the best teams in the world, but has also been struggling this year, I would say, apart from the Krakow that they had. But I’m just happy that in the fashion that we won was super important for us for the Playoffs. It felt like we have developed already as a team, that we have seen the improvements, that we have seen the progress. So that’s super cool. And now we just have to kind of remember what have worked against FURIA, but also to remember what hasn’t worked against PARIVISION. We keep reminding ourselves of these things and I’m sure, like what the only thing that we are missing right now is, you know, one really, really good event, like really good results, maybe like a Final or winning an event would shift our mental level and also confidence level, that would obviously help up a lot. Now we are just in that stage where, you know, I can’t even say we’re going for a trophy right now, I think there’s better teams than us. Such as Vitality and then NAVI as well, perhaps even Aurora is up there with us. So for us now, just one game at a time, see how far it goes and just making sure that we focus on the improvements.

Daniel: You did mention PARIVISION. I want to bring them up again. You’ve got them first in the Quarter-Finals. Stylistically, obviously quite a unique team. Do you think that’s a good matchup for you guys?

NiKo: I mean, I can’t say it’s a good matchup for us because we have lost last two times to them, obviously. I mean, the first time was with a stand-in, obviously, but I feel like they are the teams that we should beat. I felt like we made them look better than they are in Cluj. I think we should have won that series 2:0. So I’m confident going up against them. We are seeking for revenge vs. them. I know that we are a better team. It’s just about us showing up, I would say, and not f***ing up anymore.

Daniel: I’m curious about your expectations for the team, not necessarily for this season, but for the rest of the year. If we’re looking at this nine months from now, where would you want to be to be satisfied with 2026?

NiKo: Definitely we need to win trophies. I don’t have an exact number because we haven’t won a trophy in a while, so definitely winning… I would even say multiple trophies. I’m not sure if I’ll be satisfied with one, but at this point, obviously I would. But I think the most important thing is that we become a better team. I think that we become more stable, more consistent, which we have lacked this past couple of months. But then potentially, we know that we have to lift the trophies. It’s everyone’s goal on this team. This is what we are here for. And of course, the organisation’s goal as well is to lift the trophies. There’s been a lot invested in and we need to make results. Yeah, anything but winning a couple of trophies this year would be, I would say, disappointing.