OG Signs Niko to CS:GO Roster
By Zach Snoddy
OG signed Nikolaj "niko" Kristensen to its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. The Danish rifler will move on from Heroic, where he had been inactive since Feb. 26. After weeks of being pursued by several interested squads, OG was able to sign the 22-year-old niko.
??? This may or may not come as a surprise - I’m officially signed to OG!? I’m extremely excited for this opportunity and I can’t wait for what is to come! #DreamOG pic.twitter.com/WLrclbNPQt
— Nikolaj Kristensen (@OfficialnikoCS) March 17, 2021
Despite his young age, niko is an experienced and accomplished player who could be considered a veteran in CS: GO. Having turned pro in 2015, he has spent most of his career on Heroic and OpTic Gaming, having two stints with both teams. He joined Heroic for the second time in April 2020 after originally playing for them from 2016-2018.
Heroic and niko saw a great deal of success in 2020, winning four tournaments including DreamHack Open Fall 2020. He also won DeamHack Open Summer 2019 with OpTic Gaming. Despite the success, Heroic benched niko and teammate Johannes "b0RUP" Borup after signing Rasmus "sjuush" Beck and Ismail "refrezh" Ali from MAD Lions.
OG Signs Niko to CS: GO Roster
It did not take long for niko to find a new squad as OG had been linked with OG shortly after his benching. He even played with the team as a stand-in during the DreamHack Masters Spring closed qualifier. OG has now officially added niko to their roster after weeks of speculation.
OG has been one of the best-performing squads in CS: GO since entering the competition in Dec. 2019, but has yet to claim a first-place finish in a standard tournament. They did earn 1st-3rd honors at BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Regular Season but did so by winning their group and did not have to play the other two group winners. They have never finished worse than 10th in any tournament they have entered and are trending upward two consecutive second-place finishes to end 2020.
By adding niko to the squad, OG will be looking to finally get over the hump and earn their first tournament victory. The team currently only has four rostered players after benching Issa "ISSAA" Murad on Tuesday. OG will need to sign another player before they can enter any future competitions.