FaZe NiKo reveals how coldzera rivalry turned into close friendship
On the eve of the BLAST Pro Series Global Finals, FaZe Clan’s CSGO roster sat down with Frankie Ward on the BLAST media day, and longstanding star Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač revealed how his rivalry with co-star Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David gave way to a beautiful partnership.
NiKo and coldzera aren’t just powerful CSGO allies, they’re a full-blown power couple. But before the FaZe duo embodied modern-day relationship goals, they found themselves on the opposite sides of a competitive rivalry.
When Frankie asked the two stars why they liked each other so much, NiKo dived in with some history about their relationship.
“Ever since we had this rivalry back in 2017, we have been hanging out together,” he explained. “The friendship clicks.”
In 2017, NiKo had a breakout year in his first year with FaZe Clan, earning multiple championships with FaZe and giving coldzera some competition for player of the year while he was with SK Gaming. Coldzera claimed the honor that year, his second in a row, and the two players joked that that was the cause of the rivalry.
During that year, cold and SK also won the head-to-head matchups, winning seemingly every series that pit them against FaZe, including a handful of series in the grand finals of events like IEM Sydney and ECS Season 3 finals.
Two years later, the rivals-turned-friends would become teammates, as FaZe paid top dollar to acquire coldzera from MIBR. Their teammate rain gave some insight on how the two co-exist on the same server when they both make calls.
“Of course whatever [NiKo] says is law, but then again cold has some really good input, and sometimes NiKo listens. But usually, it’s ‘end of discussion’ when you talk to Niko in the in-game.”
Both NiKo and cold shared a handshake and a smile as rain described the inner workings of their partnerships. NiKo joked earlier in the interview about their disagreements on the comms.
“We’re on the same page most of the time when it comes to CS,” NiKo said as he and coldzera shared a laugh. They’ll be sharing the same city block as well in a short amount of time, as NiKo revealed that he was planning to move closer to coldzera soon, to the building next door.
DreamHackThe next step for the duo is to improve on results heading into 2020. Their debut at ESL One NY did not go well at all, going 0-4 in maps and getting eliminated right away. The good news for FaZe heading into the Global Finals is that they’ve looked very good in BLAST events already, having won Copenhagen over NiP back in November.
It seems the duo really enjoys playing together, but both players will be looking to win much more in the next year, especially as that Valve major victory still eludes the legendary NiKo.