Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen, a Danish in-game leader who wrote his name in gold at CS:GO’s most prestigious event during PGL Major Antwerp 2022 with Copenhagen Flames: an underdog team who rose to the spotlight after reaching the Quarter-Finals.
With such achievement while steering the ship, he became a headline act, capturing the attention of many tier-one teams, which resulted in his arrival at G2 Esports.
Rasmus was yet to dip his toes in tier one, and handling a historical organization with some of the best talents in the scene proved to be challenging in his debut.
Although G2 signed Justin “jks” Savage, adding extra firepower after he proved his worth among the best with FaZe Clan, the team needed some time to get into the swing of things.
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A rocky start for Hooxi
In CS:GO, most new rosters need some time to adapt, both inside and outside the server. In fact, rosters clicking on the spot is as rare as a Stattrak Factory New AK-47 Case Hardened Scar pattern, or in other words, almost impossible.
BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022 was his first test, and he successfully passed after qualifying for the BLAST Premier Fall Finals, though the path was rocky as he and his side triumphed through the Last Chance Stage.
Their performances were underwhelming, as expected to begin with, but the real test was yet to come at ESL Pro League Season 16, where he proved himself as a worthy leader.
G2 Esports topped their group and went ham, winning all their five matches without dropping a single map against teams like FaZe Clan, BIG, MIBR and Outsiders.
A strong showing granted them a quarter-final spot, where they defeated NAVI to later fall at the hands of Team Vitality in the Semi-Finals.
Despite the loss, HooXi showed the world that G2 were a force to reckon with and on a path to building a team in the running for championships.
(Image Credits: Adela Sznajder, ESL Gaming)Major fall
IEM Rio Major 2022
Nothing can top the hunger to win a Major trophy. After all, it’s the ones that starve who become Major Champions. Some teams tumble while others rise to the top. ‘Dominance’ is only temporary and an era might begin but never lasts with no team standing alone on top of the mountain forever. But how can you dominate and start an era when you can’t even make it to the Major?
With a new powerhouse team, expectations reached the sky and the destination was Rio. However, instead of shooting for the stars, they missed their shots inside of the server and went 1-3, losing to Cloud9, 1WIN and GamerLegion to miss the IEM Rio Major 2022.
G2 Esports had previously qualified for every Major since 2015, a streak of 11 Major events and this sadly came to an end with HooXi.
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
HooXi managed to brush off the dust of the past, heading into CS:GO’s last Major in Paris after convincingly making the Challengers Stage.
G2, with stellar individual performances, breezed through TheMongloZ, Complexity and Apeks, granting them a chance to walk an extra mile in the Legends Stage.
Unfortunately for them, things took a turn for the worse as they lost their BO1s against Team Vitality and Bad News Eagles. Despite winning against FURIA, their fate was sealed after losing to fnatic and were eliminated.
Hooxi and G2 after being eliminated from the major (Image Credits: BLAST)Their premature exit gave HooXi an extra layer of criticism from different analysts, with some expecting roster changes in the upcoming shuffle.
It was a dark time for the Danish as a leader and especially for Nikola “NiKo” KovaÄ, who, according to most professional players, certainly deserves a Major title to his name.
Reaching the gold
Two months after the disastrous results at the IEM Road to Rio 2022 Europe RMR A, the GIGACHAD lifted his first trophy as a leader, crushing and winning the BLAST Premier World Final 2022 in Abu Dhabi.
Despite the loss against FaZe Clan in the opening round, G2 recovered and put up a show and demolished Team Vitality, FaZe Clan and Team Liquid in the Playoffs to finally touch gold and be crowned a champion.
IEM Katowice
HooXi’s success continued as he managed to secure first place at the BLAST Premier Spring Groups. Some good practice before heading to Katowice for Intel Extreme Masters, one of the most famed events after Majors in CS:GO.
With a stellar showing from start to finish, G2 looked unstoppable and they finally managed to find their form as a superstar team.
Regardless of the opponent, Rasmus was always a step ahead, collecting wins against BIG, NAVI and later FaZe Clan to secure a playoff spot without dropping a single map up until the Grand Final.
Though they faced another team who was writing their own story, Heroic, it didn’t stop NiKo from lifting another big trophy and giving HooXi more credit as an in-game leader.
G2 Finally got to lift the trophy (Image Credits: ESL)IEM Cologne
The Counter-Strike Cathedral is a stage where the most talented artists display their art inside the server in front of thousands of fans from all across the globe.
The last iteration of the event for CS:GO before switching to CS2. With many teams showing great performances, G2 wasn’t even in the equation as a favorite contender, but the GIGACHAD had a different say.
Their road to triumph wasn’t easy by any means, having to battle tooth and nail against the best teams in the world. A seamless performance through the Group Stage cut them a spot in the Semi-Finals, after beating Astralis, FaZe Clan and Team Vitality.
The Playoffs carried a similar scenario in the heart of the LANXESS Arena, facing their opening opponent, Astralis. The fact that the Danes took a map off G2 in the first series, and considering they brought their A-level gameplay throughout the event, it was expected to see a fierce battle, only to see the Samurais dismantle them in a 2-0 fashion.
ENCE, on the other hand, made back-to-back Grand Finals before IEM Cologne, giving them a slight edge on paper. However, it was a different story inside the server. HooXi was destined to be crowned once again to collect another big trophy and cement himself as a bright in-game leader.
G2 poured blood, sweat and tears into the series as they dominated Nuke and Mirage before ENCE could pull a leg, taking their second map pick, Anubis.
After an impressive T side on Ancient, G2 denied any attempt of a comeback, winning seven rounds in a row to become the last CS:GO IEM Cologne champions.
As HooXi continues to carve his name in history, one thing is certain: his legacy as a leader and champion is still being written while the Counter-Strike world watches, wondering what heights the Danish leader will reach next and which trophies he will raise in the future.
