NiKo Calls m0NESY the Best Player He Has Ever Played With

Nikola “NiKo” Kovač has delivered one of his strongest endorsements of Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov yet, calling the Team Falcons AWPer the best player he has played alongside during his career.

NiKo also highlighted how much m0NESY has developed since the pair first became teammates at G2 in 2022, pointing beyond raw statistics to his preparation, communication and confidence.

The comments add another chapter to a partnership that began when m0NESY entered tier-one Counter-Strike as a 16-year-old and later resumed when the Russian AWPer reunited with NiKo at Team Falcons in 2025.

Quick Summary

Detail	Information
Main subject	NiKo’s assessment of m0NESY
Players	NiKo, m0NESY
Current team	Team Falcons
Game	Counter-Strike 2
Date reported	September 21, 2026
Core claim	NiKo called m0NESY the best player he has played with
Main reasons cited	Development, preparation, communication, confidence and round-winning ability
Status	Public statement reported by Cybersport.ru
Roster implication	None announced
Ranking impact	None directly; this is a player statement rather than a competitive result

What did NiKo say about m0NESY?

According to Cybersport.ru, NiKo described m0NESY as “the best player I’ve ever played with.”

The Falcons rifler emphasized that his assessment is based on more than m0NESY’s statistical output. NiKo said the AWPer has made major progress since they first started playing together when m0NESY was 16 and specifically highlighted improvements in preparation, communication and confidence.

NiKo also described m0NESY’s current level as the best version of the player he has seen.

Perhaps the most revealing part of the comments concerned m0NESY’s ability to keep difficult rounds alive. NiKo explained that Falcons can retain belief in seemingly lost situations while their AWPer remains in the round.

That description provides useful context for how NiKo views m0NESY’s value: not simply as a high-output sniper, but as a player whose presence can preserve a team’s win condition in unfavorable situations.

NiKo additionally suggested that m0NESY could establish himself as the world’s best player if he maintains his level and Falcons convert their performances into more tournament victories.

That final point should be treated as NiKo’s assessment rather than an independent ranking conclusion.

NiKo and m0NESY: From G2 to Team Falcons

NiKo has an unusually long reference point from which to evaluate m0NESY.

Their partnership began at G2 at the start of 2022. G2’s roster announcement for that season listed NiKo and the then-16-year-old m0NESY together, with m0NESY arriving as the organization’s dedicated AWPer.

The partnership continued until NiKo left G2 for Falcons at the beginning of 2025.

The separation did not last long.

Falcons officially signed m0NESY from G2 on April 14, 2025, reuniting the AWPer with NiKo. HLTV reported at the time that the two had won six trophies together between January 2022 and December 2024.

Shortly after the move, m0NESY publicly described the connection from his side as well, telling HLTV that playing alongside NiKo felt different and that the pair had a natural balance.

That history makes NiKo’s latest comments more significant than praise based on a short period as teammates. He has watched m0NESY develop from a teenage prospect entering tier-one Counter-Strike into the centerpiece of Falcons’ AWP setup.

NiKo and m0NESY Career Timeline

Date	Development
January 2022	m0NESY enters G2’s starting lineup alongside NiKo as a 16-year-old AWPer
2022–2024	NiKo and m0NESY compete together for G2
December 2024 / January 2025	Their first period as teammates ends as NiKo leaves G2 and joins Falcons
January 3, 2025	Falcons officially announce NiKo
April 14, 2025	Falcons sign m0NESY from G2, reuniting him with NiKo
April 2025	m0NESY speaks publicly about his strong in-game connection with NiKo
June 2026	Falcons win the IEM Cologne Major with m0NESY earning the event MVP award
September 15, 2026	Falcons IGL karrigan also publicly describes m0NESY as perhaps the best player he has played alongside
September 21, 2026	NiKo calls m0NESY the best player he has played with and praises his development

Why NiKo’s m0NESY Comments Matter

NiKo has spent years competing alongside elite Counter-Strike players, so the statement provides a notable personal benchmark for how highly he regards his current teammate.

More importantly for Falcons, the comments reveal what NiKo values about m0NESY’s development.

His praise was not limited to mechanics or AWP output. Preparation, communication and confidence were all specifically mentioned, suggesting NiKo sees m0NESY’s progression as broader than an improvement in individual firepower.

That distinction matters in a team built around several experienced and mechanically gifted players.

It also fits the trajectory of m0NESY’s career. He entered G2 as an exceptionally talented teenage AWPer but has since accumulated years of tier-one experience and eventually reunited with NiKo under Falcons.

karrigan Has Also Praised m0NESY

NiKo is not the only Falcons veteran to make an unusually strong statement about m0NESY.

On September 15, Cybersport.ru reported that Finn “karrigan” Andersen had described m0NESY as perhaps the best player he had ever played with, praising both his individual ability and mentality.

The similarity between the two assessments is notable.

NiKo focused on m0NESY’s development, preparation, communication, confidence and ability to rescue difficult rounds. Karrigan separately emphasized the AWPer’s qualities as both a player and teammate.

These remain personal evaluations rather than objective declarations of who the world’s best player is, but together they offer insight into how two highly experienced teammates view m0NESY inside the Falcons environment.

Current Team Falcons CS2 Roster

As of September 21, 2026, available HLTV roster data lists the following Falcons lineup:

Player	Function
Finn “karrigan” Andersen	In-game leader
Nikola “NiKo” Kovač	Rifler
René “TeSeS” Madsen	Rifler
Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov	AWPer
Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin	Rifler
Danny “zonic” Sørensen	Coach

This lineup has been listed together since May 2026.

Tactical Impact: Why m0NESY Gives Falcons a Different Win Condition

NiKo’s description of m0NESY as someone capable of keeping otherwise difficult rounds alive points toward an important tactical dimension of an elite AWPer.

An AWPer who remains dangerous in disadvantaged situations can force opponents to respect additional angles, slow down conversions and avoid careless individual engagements.

For Falcons, that can create value even before m0NESY actually wins a clutch.

His survival can preserve uncertainty.

That does not mean every difficult round becomes recoverable, and NiKo’s comments should not be converted into a statistical claim without supporting round-level data. However, his explanation shows that Falcons themselves place considerable trust in m0NESY when rounds break away from the original tactical plan.

There is another relevant factor in the current roster.

With karrigan directing the team, Falcons have an experienced IGL alongside several high-impact individual players. Earlier in 2026, m0NESY described the rotations and controlled chaos created under karrigan as fitting naturally with how he wants to play.

That makes the relationship between structure and individual freedom one of the most important tactical storylines surrounding the roster.

m0NESY’s Role in Team Falcons

m0NESY operates as Falcons’ primary AWPer.

That naturally places him in a position to influence opening engagements, rotations and late-round situations, but his value cannot be reduced to the weapon itself.

NiKo’s latest comments emphasize three less visible areas:

Preparation: how m0NESY approaches matches before entering the server.

Communication: how effectively he contributes information within the team structure.

Confidence: his willingness to make and execute high-impact decisions.

NiKo’s comments therefore suggest that he sees m0NESY’s evolution as both mechanical and professional.

Tournament Context

Falcons enter the next part of their 2026 schedule after a significant year.

Most notably, they won the IEM Cologne Major 2026. HLTV’s event records list Falcons as champions, while m0NESY received the tournament MVP award.

That result gives additional context to NiKo’s suggestion that tournament success is relevant when discussing m0NESY’s place among the world’s elite.

Falcons’ next listed event on HLTV is ESL Pro League Season 24, scheduled for October 3–11, followed by the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 in Malta on October 14–18.

The exact next match and opponent were not confirmed in the sources reviewed for this article.

Next match: TBD
Next confirmed event: ESL Pro League Season 24, October 3–11, 2026

Ranking and VRS Impact

NiKo’s statement itself has no direct impact on Valve Regional Standings.

VRS is driven by competitive results rather than player interviews or teammate evaluations.

For historical context, Valve’s August 3, 2026 Regional Standings data listed the karrigan–NiKo–TeSeS–m0NESY–kyousuke Falcons roster at No. 2 globally with a Final Rank Value of 1950.1.

Because that figure comes from the August 3 snapshot, it should not be presented as Falcons’ current September 21 VRS position without a newer verified ranking dataset.

Current VRS position: TBD from a current official snapshot.

Historical Comparison: m0NESY’s Two Partnerships With NiKo

The NiKo–m0NESY partnership can effectively be divided into two periods.

G2 era

When m0NESY joined G2, he was 16 and entering elite international Counter-Strike for the first time.

NiKo was already one of the established stars of the scene.

Their relationship therefore initially featured a substantial experience gap.

Falcons era

Their Falcons reunion is different.

m0NESY returned to NiKo’s side with years of tier-one experience behind him and with an established reputation as an elite AWPer.

NiKo’s September 2026 comments illustrate that change. Rather than focusing primarily on m0NESY’s potential, he is now describing preparation, communication, confidence and the ability to decide rounds.

The partnership has moved from development around a teenage prospect toward two established stars operating inside the same system.

Impact Analysis

For m0NESY

The statement strengthens the picture of m0NESY as a player trusted by Falcons’ veteran core.

The most meaningful element is arguably not the “best player” label itself but NiKo’s reasoning behind it.

He specifically sees development in areas that extend beyond mechanical skill.

For NiKo

The comments also show the degree of confidence NiKo has in Falcons’ primary AWPer.

Because the two have played together across two organizations and several years, NiKo has observed multiple stages of m0NESY’s development.

For Falcons

For Falcons, strong trust between a veteran rifler, the IGL and the primary AWPer is potentially important for a roster containing several players capable of taking initiative.

NiKo’s comments do not announce a tactical change, roster move or new role.

Instead, they provide evidence of confidence in one of the team’s central pieces.

What Changes Now?

Nothing immediate changes in Falcons’ roster because of the interview.

There is no announced lineup move, role switch or strategic restructuring connected to NiKo’s statement.

Instead, the comments provide additional context for understanding the hierarchy and trust inside the current Falcons lineup.

m0NESY remains the team’s primary AWPer, while NiKo remains one of its core rifling stars.

The next meaningful evidence will come from tournament play rather than further praise.

What to Watch Next

The first question is whether m0NESY can maintain the level that prompted NiKo’s comments as Falcons enter their next tournament stretch.

ESL Pro League Season 24 is currently listed as Falcons’ next event, running from October 3–11.

The Thunderpick World Championship follows shortly afterward in Malta, where Falcons are among the eight listed teams for the $1 million event.

Beyond individual performance, watch how Falcons use m0NESY under karrigan: how much freedom he receives, how often the system leaves him in late-round situations and whether the roster can convert its individual firepower into further titles.

Those tournament results will provide a more measurable framework for the discussion NiKo has started.

Related Players, Teams and Events

NiKo: Falcons rifler and m0NESY’s longtime teammate dating back to G2’s 2022 lineup.

m0NESY: Falcons’ primary AWPer and the subject of NiKo’s latest comments.

karrigan: Falcons in-game leader who separately praised m0NESY in September 2026.

Team Falcons: Current organization of NiKo, m0NESY, karrigan, TeSeS and kyousuke.

G2 Esports: Former organization where NiKo and m0NESY first became teammates.

IEM Cologne Major 2026: Major won by Falcons, with m0NESY receiving the MVP award.

ESL Pro League Season 24: Falcons’ next currently listed event.

Thunderpick World Championship 2026: Eight-team Malta LAN scheduled for October 14–18 with Falcons among the listed participants.

FAQ

What did NiKo say about m0NESY?

NiKo called m0NESY the best player he has played with during his career. He also praised the AWPer’s development, preparation, communication and confidence.

How long have NiKo and m0NESY played together?

They first became teammates at G2 in early 2022, when m0NESY was 16. Their first stint ended when NiKo moved to Falcons around the start of 2025, before m0NESY joined Falcons in April 2025 and reunited with him.

What role does m0NESY play for Team Falcons?

m0NESY is Falcons’ primary AWPer.

Did karrigan also call m0NESY one of his best teammates?

Yes. In September 2026, karrigan separately described m0NESY as perhaps the best player he had played alongside, while also praising his mentality and individual level.

What is Team Falcons’ next CS2 event?

HLTV currently lists ESL Pro League Season 24, scheduled for October 3–11, 2026, as Falcons’ next event. The specific next opponent was not confirmed in the sources reviewed for this article.