Is Niko Joining Falcons? Who Will He Replace?

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It seemed like the story of Niko and Falcons had ended last fall. Kovač had signed a new contract with G2, leading everyone to believe that the core of the team would remain intact for several more years. However, everything changed abruptly within just a few days. Read on to know is Niko joining Falcons?

Last year, there were rumors about Falcons' interest and the start of negotiations, but this time, the process unfolded almost without any prelude. On August 24th, French insider KRL stated that the clubs had already reached an agreement: "Niko will join Falcons in 2025. Initial negotiations at the end of 2023 failed, but now Falcons and G2 have reportedly reached an agreement for Niko's transfer. Niko was supposed to sign the contract tonight, but he hasn't done so yet. He's waiting until tomorrow morning to give a final answer."

On August 26th, Sheep Esports reported that the deal was successfully completed. According to their information, Niko will remain with G2 until the end of the season, after which he will join Falcons in January 2025. The transfer fee is estimated to be between $1 and $1.2 million, with a three-year contract. Four years ago, Kovač was bought out from FaZe for almost the same amount—rumored to be between $750,000 and $1 million.

KRL later denied the rumor from Sheep Esports, saying, "They completely made that up. Damn clickbaiters." However, these words should be taken with a grain of irony—it's possible he was just mocking people who doubted his information. Sheep Esports received their information from Anonimotum, a reliable source known for high-accuracy leaks.

"If Anonimotum reports something, it's not a rumor, it's a done deal. This applies to any report released by him," said Innersh1ne after the insider news about Niko's transfer.

A year ago, Kovač was offered a salary of €85,000. It's likely that he has now received a similar or even larger offer.

"Last year, G2 was very happy to see Niko go, especially for a big buyout. As far as I understand, Nikola changed his mind back then because Falcons would have missed many tournaments in 2024. In 2025, things will be much better in that regard," said Nel.

Kovač's departure is also viewed positively by OverDrive: "I'll say something unpopular. If G2 replaces Niko, they could consistently stay in the world's top 3 and regularly win tournaments."

How Will Niko Play in Falcons? 

Sheep Esports' insider report suggests that only Magisk is immune from being replaced by Niko. Let's assume they won't swap Sunpayus for Kovač—Cloud9 has already shown the issues with playing without a dedicated sniper. Below, we'll specifically discuss the option of replacing Snappi, but for now, let's focus on the two remaining candidates: Maden and Dupreeh.

Maden is the primary candidate for replacement. Firstly, he has the lowest rating—1.07. Even at the successful BetBoom Dacha Belgrade, Maden performs worse than his teammates. Secondly, his positions almost perfectly overlap with Kovač's.

Maden and Niko's positions on defense overlap on four maps. Moreover, Maden has taken some prime spots: outside on Nuke, connector on Mirage, and short on Dust2. These positions are crucial and typically reserved for top players and team leaders. Interestingly, on the two remaining maps—Anubis and Vertigo—Kovač has a conflict with Snappi, which could be easily resolved. This means Dupreeh and Magisk would stay in roles comfortable for them.

Furia analyst Innersh1ne also believes that Maden will be the one to go. And OverDrive had predicted Maden's potential kick during his time with ENCE.

There's also a riskier option of replacing Snappi. Marco is a relatively weak player, even considering his role as captain, and Kovač has always had leadership qualities. If he decides to take on the role of in-game leader again and can work well with zonic, Falcons could have a strong lineup with no weak spots. Moreover, Kovač recently had to take over calling during G2's victorious IEM Dallas run—so the experience is there.

However, this outcome seems unlikely. Just this summer, Nikola publicly refused to take on the captaincy: "One of the reasons I didn't take the captain role when we were changing the lineup was that I believed in myself, that I could still be one of the best players in the world, and I saw clear progress."