NiKo: If m0NESY maintains his form and wins more championships, he can absolutely become the No. 1 player.

Last Saturday, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač appeared on the TV Arena Esport podcast and discussed a wide range of topics related to his career. As a professional CS player with more than 15 years of experience, NiKo said that Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov is the best player he has ever played with in his career.

“m0NESY is the best player I’ve ever played with in my career. He is absolutely gifted. I think he’s no longer a kid—he’s matured a lot. I’ve been playing CS with him since he was 16. Since then, he has put in a lot of work and changed a lot.”

“I think he has reached his peak now. He is in the best form I have ever seen from him—not only in the stats, but also in his pre-match preparation, communication, and confidence. I have complete faith in him. As long as he is in the game, even if we lose a round, we always have a chance to win the match. I believe that if he can keep this level up and we can win more matches, he can absolutely be considered the best player in the world.”

NiKo has played alongside great Counter-Strike legends such as Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer, Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács, and Marcelo "coldzera" David during his time with FaZe Clan, as well as Emil "Magisk" Reif during his time with Falcons and Kenny "kennyS" Schrub during his time with G2.