NiKo Punches a Hole in the Table Live on Stage but Keeps Playing

The semi-final game had everything you’d expect from an epic grand final: high stakes, intense highs, silencing lows and a neck-to-neck scoreboard. Perhaps the most viral moment from that game, and likely from the tournament altogether, was when G2’s  Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač punched a hole into his table after losing a potentially historical 1v5 clutch. The punch also left NiKo with a bloodied hand, but he continued to play regardless, playing a huge role in his team’s victory - truly an MVP-worthy performance.

What happened in that 1v5?

It was the 16th round of the third map, Mirage when NiKo found himself all alone as Team Vitality made quick work of his teammates. Knowing it was his time to shine, NiKo slipped through the cracks, getting the jump of three players separately whilst also hitting a nasty spray transfer to secure another one. He then planted the bomb on B site, biding his time in a 1v1 with Team Vitality’s apEx.

NiKo hid in a good spot as apEx came to defuse the bomb. However, even though NiKo got the shot on apEx first, he missed the headshot and was forced to spray the rest of his magazine, taking too long to kill the enemy. Given that NiKo was already on 24 HP, apEx was quickly able to snap around and deliver the finishing blow to the Bosnian, leading a potentially historic clutch down the drain. Losing the round was very frustrating for NiKo, whose first reaction was slamming his desk understandably so.

NiKo’s thoughts afterwards

Despite losing the round, G2 took the map to overtime and eventually came out on top with a 16-14 win, with NiKo winning a 1v3 to win match point. NiKo was arguably the MVP from the side of G2 as he put on a once-in-a-season godlike performance to bring his team back from the brink of defeat. He had many words to say in an interview with HLTV following the match.

When asked about the 1v5 situation and whether he believed he should have won it or not, NiKo said

When I killed four, I knew I should win it, and that's why I got frustrated because the round was there. It was in my hands, and I think I even played well in the end, I just whiffed on apEX, and that's why the frustration came out. Obviously, there was a lot of pressure, it's not easy to handle it when you have a 1v5.

I don't even know if I could come back into the game if I didn't smash the table, it was important for me to let the frustrations out. Obviously, I didn't want to destroy the table on purpose, but I was just very sad and frustrated that I didn't win the clutch.

It was a very important round, we could have broken their economy and momentum, and there were just a lot of things in place that led me to smash the table.

When asked about the 1v3 he pulled off to secure the win and whether it made him feel redeemed, NiKo said

At that moment, I didn't even know what had happened before, I totally forgot about that [1v5] round. In the present, I was sad when I saw my teammates dying because we knew where they were going. But I'm happy that I managed to win another clutch, and I think that clutch was very important for the team as well. So I was relieved after that round.