Probably this is the part where you expect me to tell you how Niko is an absolute saint like GH.

I won’t. The guy that is flipping the bird on his Instagram below a text saying “dislocate your neck”, and licking a knife on Twitter, surprisingly, is not a cuddlebear.

And that’s OK.

Pro Dota really needs a few more bad boys to spice things up. Puppy can’t carry the burden of breaking monitors on his shoulders all alone.

One conversation I had with him that I remember clearly was after last year’s TI grand finals. We were talking about the OG vs LGD series and I remember he said he believes if he played for LGD in that series they would be champions for sure.

Even if this statement (that struck me as quite arrogant) is true, the real question is whether LGD would have even reached the finals if Niko was playing for them. I’m certain he believes so, and I’m certain everyone reading this right now is thinking the opposite. After all, Niko has yet to prove himself. Now, one year later, he has a chance to do so.

This old conversation reminds me a bit of Sumail when he entered the T1 scene. There was an interview at DAC where Sumail said he thinks he’s a top 5-6 player in the world, implying he is better than a lot of veterans who have years of experience and success behind their backs (he named s4 as one of the people he's better than). The community was outraged – he certainly came out quite arrogant for someone that hasn’t achieved absolutely anything in Dota. Sumail ended up winning the tournament, and later on – TI5.

I think that in order to be a great core player you need to be arrogant, driven, and to believe in yourself beyond what people consider rational or even socially acceptable. Some of the best core players in Dota are like that even if they are mature enough not to state it publicly. Even Dendi, the most humble guy as a person, was arrogant inside the game during his prime (according to himself and Puppey).

I believe Niko has these qualities, which makes me very hopeful for his future in competitive Dota. I, for one, can’t wait to see him play for Mineski on the biggest stage of all, as well as to follow his career in the coming season!