With the Perfect World CS2 Major now underway, we await the arrival of the big boys in the Elimination Stage.
One of those teams, G2, have already labelled this event as their “last dance”, with star rifler NiKo set to depart for Falcons when the Major is over.
The loss of NiKo will leave a gaping hole in G2, one that is almost impossible to fill. They may already have malbsMd as his long-term successor, but one man alone can not replace NiKo, so where do they turn to complete their team?
Another aggressor
Given that G2 have seen success since the arrival of malbsMd, they might want to keep the Guatemalan in the half-lurk T side roles he has now.
If so, they could look to bring in another to keep up what they’ve had with NiKo, or they could add in a more aggressive player to assist Snax in spacetaking.
One option for this would be xertioN, the deadly MOUZ player has elevated himself to superstardom in 2024, and he now occupies the place YEKINDAR once did as the hottest prospect for an aggressive player in the world.
Another option could be TeSeS. Once a supportive element with the sole goal of setting up stavn, TeSeS has really stepped up on the post-cadiaN HEROIC team, and his 1.13 rating in the past three months makes him the second-highest rated player on HEROIC after NertZ.
A natural lurker
Given that malbsMd is expected to see some role changes in 2025, G2 may instead to look to utilise him as that opening star, leaving them with a gap in the lurking department. If that is to happen, then there are two clear options for who they could pick up.
The first of those is Spinx, who reportedly will be looking to move on from Vitality in 2025. Spinx has struggled slightly in 2024, he’s down to a 1.13 rating for the year compared to a 1.18 in 2023, but let’s not pretend like 1.13 is by any means bad.
With Spinx supposedly wanting out, he could be an economic option for G2, and he also brings with him a whole lot of tournament-winning experience.
However, if they want to guarantee firepower, G2 might instead look towards Spinx’s countryman, NertZ.
Already a star on ENCE, NertZ has only raised his stock since joining HEROIC. Left out of the move to Falcons, he’ll now consider himself the lucky one as HEROIC continue to rise up the Counter-Strike rankings and the three former ENCE players who moved to Falcons all find themselves benched.
A player who is continuing to improve year on year, NertZ may lack some of the experience of Spinx, but he is destined to play on a true championship contender team at some point in his career and his signing is one that could really elevate G2 in the wake of NiKo’s departure.
Shoring up the defence
The final option for G2 to consider is a more defensive one, an anchor who would provide a solution to some of the problems with their current roster.
When G2 lose, it is often because teams choose to target bombsites with Snax on it. B on Dust2 is a particularly problematic example, and it’s one that has now cost G2 on multiple occasions.
If they were to go for this option, the ideal replacement for NiKo would be Jimpphat. At just 18, the Finnish fragger has made it clear that he’s one of the best anchors in the world, and he would fit the role G2 would need to fill perfectly.
However, reports suggest that Jimpphat has already turned down a move to G2, so who could they turn to instead?
In our opinion, the next best thing is Krimbo. Krimbo is a player who outgrew his team long ago, but decided to stick by them and the German Counter-Strike dream.
That said, try as they might, BIG remain at the same level they were at when Krimbo signed his last contract extension, and Krimbo will soon need to leave if he is ever to truly fulfill his potential in the game.
It may take some role changes here and there for Krimbo to truly fit in the G2 squad, but those are changes that you make for a player of his caliber and potential, and he absolutely has the fragging ability to fill the gap that is about to open.
Image credits: ESL, PGL.
