NiKo declines Falcons transfer to stay with G2: “I’m not leaving”

Nikola ‘⁠NiKo’ Kovač has declined a blockbuster transfer to Team Falcons and decided to stick with G2 Esports.

NiKo declined a reportedly agreed-upon transfer between his team and the Saudi Arabian-owned Falcons. Team Falcons had apparently agreed to a million-dollar buyout to acquire the player and join its burgeoning super team.

NiKo would be the first big piece of the puzzle for Falcons and its head coach Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen. The former Team Vitality and Astralis coach is reportedly crafting a super team for the start of the Counter-Strike 2 era.

Team Falcons is also reported to have added Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif and IGL Marco ‘Snappi’ Pfeiffer to its team and planned to add NiKo and his G2 teammate Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov.

NiKo staying on G2 Esports, declining Falcons move

G2 released a video statement, trolling their fans, with NiKo saying he is sticking with the team.

“You guys know I’m not really leaving right?” NiKo said in the announcement.

According to a report about the transfer, G2 Esports had already begun to look for a replacement for the star rifler.

With G2 Esports, NiKo has won multiple IEM tournaments and a BLAST championship but has failed to secure a Major tournament trophy. The closest he and the team have come was in the 2021 PGL Stockholm Major where they lost to NAVI in the grand final. The team’s roster has undergone significant changes since that run.

Team Falcons is currently taking advantage of the chaos hitting the professional Counter-Strike market which has teams adjusting to the new title with a flurry of player moves. The organization has already announced the benching of four players from its starting roster, keeping only Mohammad ‘BOROS’ Malhas in the starting lineup as of now.

A new target for the Falcons super team has not been revealed but with the rumored implosion of FaZe, and other high-profile targets now on the market, zonic and his new squad have many stars to choose from.