CS:GO era of NiKo, kassad, bodyy, Xizt, TaZ (2015–2016)
Croatian fire on the European circuit: NiKo's first big stage with G2.
The 2015–2016 CS:GO roster at G2 Esports anchored a Croatian core around the young Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač and veteran Ivan 'kassad' Posavec, joined by bodyy, Xizt, and TaZ. This squad represented one of the earliest high-profile CS:GO rosters in G2's esports portfolio and carried the aggressive, high-tempo identity that the Croatian scene was already famous for.
In the broader timeline of G2 Esports, this era sits in the organisation's formative years in competitive Counter-Strike, a period when the team was building its identity in the European circuit before the later, more globally recognised rosters. It is remembered by the community as a window into NiKo's early star-making phase and the raw, kill-hungry style that would define his career.
Quick Facts
- Game
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO)
- Organisation
- G2 Esports
- Flagship players
- NiKo
- kassad
- bodyy
- Xizt
- TaZ
- Nationality core
- Croatian
- Scene context
- Early-to-mid CS:GO competitive era in Europe
Lore & Background
Croatian Counter-Strike has always carried a reputation for raw aggression—players who leaned into duels, traded kills, and refused to play safe. That DNA was on full display in G2's 2015–2016 CS:GO lineup. NiKo, still in his early twenties, was already developing the blistering aim and fearless AWP/ak-47 hybrid style that would later make him one of the most recognised names in the entire game. kassad, the experienced anchor, brought composure and tactical discipline to balance the younger gunfreaks around him.
The addition of bodyy, Xizt, and TaZ rounded out a five-man unit that competed across the European circuit—ESL Pro League events, regional qualifiers, and the growing ecosystem of CS:GO tournaments that were still finding their footing in 2015. The team's identity was not built around slow, methodical control maps; it was built around momentum, individual brilliance, and the kind of round-by-round chaos that made viewers lean into their screens.
For G2 Esports, this roster was part of a broader effort to establish a credible CS:GO presence alongside its other competitive divisions. The era did not produce the kind of trophy-laden legacy that later G2 CS:GO rosters would, but it planted seeds: it gave NiKo a European platform, it gave the organisation experience in managing a top-tier CS:GO team, and it gave the Croatian scene a visible flag in the G2 colours.
Reader's Guide
The period runs roughly from 2015 into 2016, the early competitive years of CS:GO in Europe. The defining roster is the Croatian unit: NiKo, kassad, bodyy, Xizt, and TaZ, all competing under the G2 Esports banner.
What made this era distinct from what came before at G2 was the shift toward a genuinely competitive CS:GO identity. Prior to this, G2's presence in Counter-Strike was still being established. This roster brought a clear national identity—Croatian, aggressive, individual-skill-heavy—that set the tone for how the team would be perceived on the European circuit. The playstyle was noticeably different from the more structured, Scandinavian-influenced teams that dominated the top of the CS:GO world at the time. Where others controlled space and tempo, this group chased kills and momentum.
The turning point that closed the chapter was the natural roster churn that defined the early CS:GO scene. Players moved, contracts ended, and the lineup that had carried the G2 flag through 2015–2016 gradually dispersed. NiKo went on to become a global superstar, kassad continued his long career in European CS, and the team's collective identity dissolved into the next generation of rosters. The era ended not with a single dramatic loss but with the quiet, inevitable reshuffling that was the norm in 2015–2016 Counter-Strike.
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