For over three years Bosnian superstar Niko was the face of Faze Clan in the world of CS:GO. One of the record signings when he joined up with the roster, he was constantly topping the leaderboards and leading his side to consistent high placings in events and tournaments throughout this time.
However, the Esports world was suddenly rocked by the news last month that the face of Faze would be departing for fellow EU rivals G2 Esports. He would be joining up with his cousin, Hunter, and leading one of the region’s best sides, but what of Faze Clan? Who could take over the mantle and fill the massive void left behind by one of CS:GO’s most talented players?
Niko might not have been the most technically gifted or tactically advanced player, and it’s a given that he will be far more unleashed without the duties of in-game leading his side anymore, but his departure certainly marks an interesting crossroads for the side to face down.
Here are a couple of CS:GO’s best in-game leaders active right now that could come into the current Faze roster and usher in a new era of success for the EU org.
Fallen
Despite the downturn in both his personal form and in-game calling in the server, Fallen is still very much a legendary face in CS:GO and the face of the game in South America. Having led both Luminosity and SK Gaming to Major Championship wins with the same core, Fallen’s loyalty to his friends was the thing that led to his voluntary benching from MiBR’s active roster back in October.
Fallen’s in-game leading is still one of the finest in the community and it’s clear that the Brazillian still has plenty to offer the game.
Obviously the big pull for someone like Fallen is the prospect of joining up with Coldzera again, who he helped turn into the best player in the world during their time together with Luminosity, SK and MiBR. With Coldzera currently without his number one friend in the team following Niko’s departure from the side, the man responsible for pulling the Brazillian from Fallen and co., and a reunion with one of the game’s true greats could be what everyone needs to feel rejuvenated again.
Golden
With stints in both EU and NA behind him, Golden is one of the most underrated and underappreciated in-game leaders in the game. He came through the ranks of the Fnatic Academy in Sweden and the UK before taking over the reins of the first team and leading them to victory at such events like the Intel Extreme Masters in 2018.
The stint with Cloud9 in North America perhaps wasn’t the smoothest for Golden, however he returned to Fnatic in October 2019 and immediately began to show his skills once more. The team won DreamHack Masters Malmo, top four’d in their next five events and then were crowned the world’s best side following a win at ESL Pro League Season 11.
Faze have a history of bringing in IGLs that know how to impact the scoreboard through high fragging performances, and Golden is certainly amongst the more prolific leaders active in the game right now.
On top of his impressive fragging performances, Golden has also been able to establish himself as a bit of a clutch king for Fnatic at the end of rounds. As Fnatic’s fortunes following EPL 11 began to take a turn for the worse and their CS:GO odds grew worse and they tumbled down the world rankings, the Swedish IGL would step up time and time again and cover for his teammates.
With Faze being a side known for their players who go missing from time to time, Golden could be the perfect replacement and come in as a consistently helpful anchor.
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
