Nihilum Gaming have announced that mousesports player Nikola "LEGIJA" Ninić has been hired to coach their CS:GO team.

The Serbian player stepped down from mouz's active roster last month as the team signed three players from PENTA Sports in an effort to climb back up the ladder of the European scene.

Rather than continue on mousesports' lineup as a backup player, Nikola "⁠LEGIJA⁠" Ninić has opted to start a new chapter in his career as coach of Nihilum Gaming, who bought the Serbian out of his contract with the German organisation.



LEGIJA takes on a coaching position in Nihilum

LEGIJA has been working with Nihilum's players for almost a month now, and in the coming weeks he is expected to move to North America to guide the team in person.

“Coaching is a role I've been keen to explore and since taking a step back from competitive play I'm thankful to Nihilum for offering me the position as a full time coach of their CS: GO division," Ninić said in a satement. "I’m looking forward to working with this team comprised of both experienced and talented players. "My vision is to combine my EU experience with their knowledge to achieve international success at the top level. We've recently been focusing on our tactical gameplay and positioning to really test what works best for each individual player and as a team. "I'd also like to thank Mousesports for their support during my time with the organisation."

LEGIJA's signing will reignite the debate about the recent influx of European talent in the North American scene, which was sparked by Jacob "⁠pyth⁠" Mourujärvi's decision to join Luminosity Gaming. Weeks later, another Swedish player, Andreas "⁠Maxaki⁠" Andersson, also moved across the Atlantic, to join ACE Gaming.

Nihilum will be hoping that, by bringing on a European coach, they will be able to close the gap on the two best teams in the region at the moment, Cloud9 and Team Liquid.

"We are ecstatic to bring Niko onboard as our full time coach," said team member Soham "valens" Chowdhury. "Not only does he bring invaluable insight having competed against EU teams, he is one of the best anti-stratters in the business. "Also his ability to quickly point out our in-game mistakes allows us to improve and develop as a team at an accelerated rate. "Lastly there are absolutely no issues with communication, in or out of the game, as he fluently speaks english."

The former Denial squad currently lie in second place in the ESL ESEA Pro League, while in CEVO Professional they sit sixth in the table.

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