Nexa is briefly withdrawing from the lineup of OG for personal reasons and will also not be competing in the qualifiers for the Paris Major. Nikolaj “Niko” Kristensen will take the captain’s spot on the team during matches for the Major.
OG has announced that their player and captain Nemanja “nexa” Isaković will temporarily withdraw from the organization’s CS:GO lineup. This means that the Serbian pro will not compete in the Closed Qualifier for the BLAST.tv Paris Major. The reasons for his sudden withdrawal from the line-up have not been announced, it was only explained that it is “personal reasons”. How long he will take a break is also still unclear.
Nexa is an integral part of OG
Nexa has been part of OG’s CS:GO lineup since the beginning of 2022. During the 2022 season, the captain helped the team win the BLAST Premier: Spring Groups and BLAST Premier: Fall Groups. The team also achieved several top 3 finishes, including CCT Central Europe Series #2, Global Esports Tour Dubai 2022, and the BLAST Premier: World Final 2022.
Niko will replace nexa
The international team, which is currently training in Poland, will not be entering the upcoming qualifying tournament with the 23-year-old pro, but fortunately the organization already has a replacement player ready.
𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: @nexaOG is stepping back from the team temporarily for personal reasons.#DreamOG pic.twitter.com/Vf54QjXzho
— OG Counter-Strike (@OGcsgo) February 15, 2023
For now, OG will compete with Nikolaj “Niko” Kristensen at the qualifier, even though the Dane will not take on the role of in-game leader. niko’s inclusion in the team will be temporary, according to the organization’s statement, but will last as long as OG can keep himself in the major cycle.
How well can OG do without nexa?
OG is currently ranked #8 in the world and have performed well at the beginning of the year despite losses to well known teams, but will have to compete in the Major qualifiers under difficult conditions and without their in game leader. This is of course not easy for the team, because especially in such big events, or the qualifiers for them, a well-rehearsed line-up with a capable IGL is essential to advance and dominate the competition.
The OG lineup for the upcoming matches without their IGL nexa looks like this:
- Adam “NEOFRAG” Zouhar
- Shahar “flameZ” Shushan
- Maciej “F1KU” Miklas
- Abdul “degster” Gasanov
- Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen (substitute player)
- Nemanja “nexa” Isaković (currently listed inactive)
- Casper “ruggah” Due (coach)
The BLAST.tv Paris Major RMR Closed Qualifier B, for which OG has been seeded, will take place from February 16-19. Besides eight not yet confirmed teams from the Open Qualifer, Falcons, Monte, GamerLegion, Apeks, forZe, Illuminar and Aurora are invited.