Nikola “NiKo” Kovač is the most celebrated rifler in the history of Counter-Strike — a player whose mechanical skill with every weapon in the game has been so consistently extraordinary that the CS2 community considers his aim in a category of its own. Born on February 16, 1997, in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, NiKo is 29 years old in 2026. He stands 6 feet 1 inch tall. He currently plays for Team Falcons alongside m0nesy, having moved from G2 Esports in 2025 after four and a half years that produced some of the most individually brilliant performances in competitive Counter-Strike history.

His statistics tell the story of sustained excellence across a career that began in 2012: 10 consecutive HLTV Top 20 Player of the Year rankings between 2016 and 2025, 10 HLTV MVP awards at Big Events, approximately $1.87 million in documented career prize money, and a reputation built on plays that the community still watches years after they happened. The one trophy that has eluded him — a CS Major Championship — remains the defining tension in a career otherwise defined by arriving at every other milestone the game offers.


NiKo — Quick Player Profile

Detail Information
Full Name Nikola Kovač
In-Game Name NiKo
Date of Birth February 16, 1997
Age (2026) 29 years old
Height 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm)
Nationality Bosnian
Hometown Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Current Team Team Falcons
Role Rifler / Entry Fragger
Relationship Sara Stojanovic (girlfriend)
Career Prize Money ~$1,873,696
HLTV Top 20 10 consecutive years (2016–2025)
HLTV MVPs 10 Big Event MVPs
Major Championships 0

NiKo CS2 Settings — Complete Verified List

niko cs2 settings

Mouse Settings

NiKo’s mouse settings as verified from specs.gg (updated June 2026) reflect a precision-focused low-sensitivity setup consistent with his identity as a rifler who demands exact crosshair placement across every engagement distance. He plays at 800 DPI and 0.7 in-game sensitivity, giving him an effective DPI of 560 — slightly below the professional average of around 700 eDPI for riflers, placing him in the arm-movement range that prioritizes control over snap speed.

The philosophy behind NiKo’s sensitivity choice is visible in how he plays. His trademark smooth tracking shots and precise flick mechanics are built on a foundation of controlled arm movements rather than wrist-flick reactions. At 560 eDPI, rapid 180-degree turns require more physical movement than at higher sensitivities — but crosshair placement on a stationary target at range is correspondingly more precise. For a player whose entire reputation rests on mechanical accuracy, the slightly lower eDPI reflects a deliberate prioritization of precision over panic-response speed.

He uses the Razer DeathAdder V4 PRO NiKo Edition — a custom version of one of the most popular professional mice available, produced in partnership between Razer and NiKo’s brand. The DeathAdder V4 PRO features the Razer Focus Pro 35K optical sensor and a polling rate of 1000Hz. NiKo’s choice to maintain 1000Hz rather than the higher 4000Hz polling rate available on some competitor mice is a personal preference — many professional players have not switched to 4000Hz configurations despite the theoretical input lag reduction.

Mouse Setting Value
DPI 800
In-Game Sensitivity 0.7
eDPI 560
Polling Rate 1000Hz
Zoom Sensitivity 1
Windows Sensitivity 6
Mouse Acceleration Off
Raw Input On
Mouse Model Razer DeathAdder V4 PRO NiKo Edition

Crosshair Settings and Code

NiKo uses a classic static blue-green crosshair — one of the most distinctive in professional CS2 — with no center dot, no outline, and gap set to -4. The blue-green color (RGB 0, 255, 145) sits in the cyan-green spectrum and provides strong contrast against the brown, grey, and earth-toned environments that dominate CS2’s competitive maps. Like m0nesy’s cyan choice, NiKo’s crosshair color is a deliberate visibility decision rather than an aesthetic preference.

The gap of -4 creates a slight overlap in the center of the crosshair lines — the lines actually cross each other rather than leaving a gap — producing a compact, precise aim point that NiKo has used consistently across years of professional play. The length of 1 and thickness of 1 keep the crosshair minimally intrusive on his screen view, consistent with his focus on clean visual information during engagements.

NiKo Crosshair Code: CSGO-xQsAb-b7J42-qcvvS-5AG9v-VwLXL

To use: open CS2 → Settings → Game → Crosshair → Share or Import → paste the code.

Crosshair Setting Value
Style Classic Static
Color Blue-green (RGB: 0, 255, 145)
Length 1
Thickness 1
Gap -4
Outline No
Center Dot No
T-Style No
Follow Recoil No
Crosshair Code CSGO-xQsAb-b7J42-qcvvS-5AG9v-VwLXL

Video Settings

NiKo plays on 1280×960 with 4:3 stretched aspect ratio — the same resolution preference shared by m0nesy and many other top CS2 professionals. The stretched resolution widens player models visually, making targets easier to track and hit at the cost of peripheral clarity. For a rifler whose job often involves fast-moving close-to-medium range engagements, the wider model profile provides meaningful practical benefit. All his graphics settings are low except global shadow quality, which he sets to high for the positional information shadows provide during play.

Video Setting Value
Resolution 1280×960
Aspect Ratio 4:3 Stretched
Display Mode Fullscreen
Boost Player Contrast Enabled
Wait for Vertical Sync Disabled
Global Shadow Quality High
Model/Texture Detail Low
Texture Filtering Mode Bilinear
Shader Detail Low
Particle Detail Low
Anti-Aliasing None
Ambient Occlusion Disabled

Viewmodel Settings

NiKo’s viewmodel settings are nearly identical to m0nesy’s — FOV 68, offset x:2.5, y:0, z:-1.5, presetpos 3 — a configuration common among FaZe and Falcons players who have developed shared setup preferences over years of playing together.

viewmodel_fov 68
viewmodel_offset_x 2.5
viewmodel_offset_y 0
viewmodel_offset_z -1.5
viewmodel_presetpos 3
cl_viewmodel_shift_left_amt 1.5
cl_viewmodel_shift_right_amt 0.75
viewmodel_recoil 0
cl_righthand 1

His HUD color is light blue, matching his crosshair color scheme. HUD size is set to 0.95, slightly smaller than default to reduce screen clutter while retaining all necessary information.

Launch Options

NiKo does not use any launch options, according to ProSettings.net. This is a clean configuration choice that eliminates potential issues from outdated or conflicting launch commands — consistent with the broader principle of keeping his setup simple and transferable across tournament machines.


Full Settings Summary Table

Category Setting Value
Mouse DPI 800
Mouse Sensitivity 0.7
Mouse eDPI 560
Mouse Polling Rate 1000Hz
Video Resolution 1280×960
Video Aspect Ratio 4:3 Stretched
Video Shadow Quality High
Video Everything else Low
Crosshair Color Blue-green (0, 255, 145)
Crosshair Code CSGO-xQsAb-b7J42-qcvvS-5AG9v-VwLXL
Viewmodel FOV 68
Gear Mouse Razer DeathAdder V4 PRO NiKo Edition
Launch Options None


NiKo’s Gear and Setup

NiKo’s peripheral partnership with Razer is one of the most prominent in CS2 esports. The DeathAdder V4 PRO NiKo Edition is a signature product that reflects his commercial status as one of the game’s most recognizable names. Beyond the mouse, his setup includes the Razer Strider XL mousepad — a hybrid surface providing both precision and speed — and a 240Hz monitor that he runs at his setup’s verified refresh rate. His keyboard and headset are not publicly confirmed to specific models as of June 2026.


NiKo’s Age, Height and Personal Life

NiKo was born on February 16, 1997, in Brčko — a small city in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina situated in the Brčko District, the autonomous administrative unit of the country. He grew up in a family that owned an internet café, which gave him both early access to Counter-Strike and an environment where competitive play was a constant presence from a very young age. He started playing CS 1.6 as a child at that café, and by his early teenage years was competing in local tournaments.

He is 6 feet 1 inch tall — 185 centimeters — making him taller than most professional esports players. His height is notable enough that the community has frequently commented on it in the context of his lanyard-to-mouse ratio at tournament setups and his physical presence at LAN events. For a sport where physical stature has no direct gameplay relevance, height has become part of the NiKo lore that fans discuss alongside his aim.

His girlfriend is Sara Stojanovic — an Instagram fashion influencer and part-time model. The couple have maintained a relatively low-profile relationship, with Sara appearing occasionally in NiKo’s social media content without either actively capitalizing on the esports attention that comes with being associated with one of the sport’s most famous players. NiKo has never referred to Sara as his wife in any public statement — the correct description is girlfriend rather than wife. He also owns two Samoyed dogs, which appear frequently in his social media posts and have become something of a secondary fanbase fixture alongside his competitive highlights.

His cousin Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač — Isaković on his mother’s side — is also a professional CS2 player, currently competing for G2 Esports. The familial connection between two elite players from the same small Bosnian city is one of the most compelling backstory elements in competitive Counter-Strike, and the periods where NiKo and huNter have competed together (at G2 from 2021 to 2025) produced some of the most celebrated team performances of that era.


Career Timeline — From Internet Café to Team Falcons

niko cs2

Origins and iNation (2012–2015)

NiKo began his competitive journey in 2012 with iNation, a small Bosnian organization where his raw mechanical ability first attracted wider attention. His performances at regional events in 2013 and 2014 made him a name in Eastern European CS circles, and by 2015 his reputation had reached the level where mousesports — a German organization competing at the top tier of European CS — came calling.

mousesports (2015–2017)

The mousesports period was NiKo’s introduction to consistently elite Counter-Strike. Playing at events like ESL One and major regional qualifier circuits, he established himself as one of the most mechanically gifted players in Europe. The community’s recognition grew with each event, and by 2016 he had achieved his first HLTV Top 20 Player of the Year ranking — a position he would hold for ten consecutive years.

FaZe Clan (2017–2020)

NiKo joined FaZe Clan in February 2017 at a time when FaZe was assembling one of the most formidable rosters in CS:GO history. The three years that followed produced extraordinary individual performances — he reached HLTV’s second-highest player ranking in 2017, won the ELEAGUE Premier 2017 ($500,000 prize pool) with FaZe, and delivered performances at multiple Major finals that kept FaZe in contention without ever converting a championship.

The most painful chapter of NiKo’s FaZe era was the 2018 FACEIT London Major — FaZe reached the grand final, where NiKo and his teammates lost to Astralis. The infamous NiKo whiff on s1mple at Nuke in map 2 of the 2021 PGL Stockholm Major final — where a nearly certain kill was missed at the worst possible moment — became one of the most replayed clips in Counter-Strike history and symbolized NiKo’s relationship with Major tournaments: consistently brilliant, never quite reaching the final step.

G2 Esports (2020–2025)

NiKo joined G2 Esports in December 2020, reuniting with his cousin huNter- in a move that generated enormous excitement. The G2 era of nearly five years was the longest team relationship of NiKo’s career. Significant tournament wins arrived — IEM Katowice 2022 and multiple other tier-one event victories — and the partnership with m0nesy from 2022 onward produced consistent top-tier performances.

G2 reached the PGL Antwerp Major 2022 final, where NiKo came close again before another loss. The pattern of approaching the Major summit and falling short became the defining narrative of this era. Despite the trophy gap, NiKo continued logging HLTV Top 20 appearances and MVP awards, demonstrating that his individual excellence was never the reason for Major failures — team-level execution and opponent quality in the bracket were factors beyond his individual control.

Team Falcons (2025–Present)

NiKo left G2 for Team Falcons in 2025, bringing m0nesy with him in a move that created one of the most mechanically gifted duos in professional Counter-Strike. Falcons also added karrigan — the IGL NiKo specifically identified as the only coach he would have taken, stating in January 2026 “basically, it was only karrigan or no one else.”

The Falcons have quickly established themselves as a genuine contender. Falcons reached the PGL Astana 2026 grand final in May 2026, where they lost to Spirit — donk’s team — in a match that once again illustrated how close NiKo continues to come without converting. In June 2026, Falcons competed in IEM Cologne Major 2026, beating NAVI to head into the LANXESS arena in Stage 3, with NiKo himself commenting after the CS Asia Championship final: “It’s becoming harder and harder to let things go” — a statement that captured the emotional weight of continued near-misses.


NiKo’s Major Wins — The Career’s Central Question

The answer to “how many Majors has NiKo won?” is zero — and that answer is the most discussed fact about his career.

This is not because of individual underperformance. NiKo has reached Major finals with FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, and competed at the highest level through every Major era of CS:GO and CS2 across a decade. The specific failures are well-documented: the 2018 FACEIT London Major final against Astralis, the 2021 PGL Stockholm Major final where the NiKo whiff against s1mple became immortalized, the 2022 PGL Antwerp Major final against Natus Vincere.

At each of these finals, NiKo performed well individually. The losses came from team-level factors — opponents playing the best Counter-Strike of their careers, pivotal rounds going against Falcons or FaZe or G2 by thin margins. The community has developed two distinct perspectives on NiKo’s Major record: those who believe his individual excellence deserves individual credit regardless of team trophy outcomes, and those who believe a player of his caliber should have converted at least one of the multiple Major final appearances he has accumulated.

His own January 2026 statement — “I’m still confident that I’m one of the best in my role. I don’t think I’m washed” — reflects a player who has internalized this narrative and responded with confidence rather than resignation. The IEM Cologne Major 2026 represents yet another opportunity, and Falcons entering the main event with strong form suggests the question may not remain unanswered indefinitely.


NiKo’s Achievements

Despite the Major gap, NiKo’s achievement record is extraordinary:

10 consecutive HLTV Top 20 Player of the Year rankings (2016–2025) — a longevity record matched by very few players in the history of competitive Counter-Strike. 10 HLTV Big Event MVP awards. ELEAGUE Premier 2017 first-place finish with FaZe Clan ($500,000). IEM Katowice 2022 first-place finish with G2 Esports. Multiple ESL Pro League and BLAST Premier victories. Approximately $1,873,696 in documented career prize money across roughly 180 tournaments and 23 first-place event finishes. In January 2026, he drew level with donk in total MVP award count — a comparison that captured how current his dominance remains even a decade into his career.


NiKo vs. Other Elite Riflers — Where He Stands

The question of NiKo’s place among the all-time greats is debated continuously in the Counter-Strike community, and the comparison most frequently drawn is with s1mple — the player who holds all three HLTV Player of the Year awards that NiKo never won (coming second in 2017, third in 2018 and 2021).

Player Best HLTV Rank HLTV MVPs Major Wins Prize Money
NiKo #2 (2017) 10 0 ~$1.87M
S1mple #1 (2018, 2021, 2022) 21 1 ~$1.72M
ZywOo #1 (2019, 2020, 2023) 12+ 2 ~$2M+
Device #1 (2021 shared) 6+ 4 ~$2.1M

NiKo holds more HLTV Top 20 appearances than any player in the list except s1mple and is the only rifler in Counter-Strike history to maintain 10 consecutive Top 20 rankings. His crosshair codes and settings are among the most copied in the game. His January 2026 statement that he would like to play with s1mple — “Maybe we wouldn’t match well together, but at least I would learn a lot from him” — reflected a gracious acknowledgment of the player who consistently outranked him in the most competitive era of Counter-Strike history.


Frequently Asked Questions

What are NiKo’s CS2 settings? NiKo’s key CS2 settings: 800 DPI, 0.7 in-game sensitivity (560 eDPI), 1280×960 resolution in 4:3 stretched, blue-green Classic Static crosshair. Crosshair code: CSGO-xQsAb-b7J42-qcvvS-5AG9v-VwLXL. Global shadow quality high, all other graphics low. No launch options.

How old is NiKo? NiKo was born on February 16, 1997, making him 29 years old as of June 2026. He has been competing professionally since 2012 and has been in the HLTV Top 20 for ten consecutive years from 2016 to 2025.

How tall is NiKo? NiKo is 6 feet 1 inch tall (185 centimeters), making him one of the taller professional CS2 players on the circuit.

What team does NiKo play for? NiKo currently plays for Team Falcons, having joined in 2025 alongside m0nesy after nearly five years at G2 Esports. Falcons also feature karrigan as IGL — the only coach NiKo stated he would have accepted when considering the move.

Does NiKo have a wife? NiKo is not married. His girlfriend is Sara Stojanovic, an Instagram fashion influencer and part-time model. The couple maintain a private relationship and NiKo has not made any public announcements about marriage.

Has NiKo won a Major? No. Despite reaching Major finals multiple times — including the 2018 FACEIT London Major, the 2021 PGL Stockholm Major, and the 2022 PGL Antwerp Major — NiKo has not won a CS Major Championship. This remains the most-discussed gap in an otherwise extraordinary career.

What crosshair code does NiKo use? NiKo’s current CS2 crosshair code is CSGO-xQsAb-b7J42-qcvvS-5AG9v-VwLXL. It is a Classic Static blue-green crosshair (RGB 0, 255, 145) with length 1, thickness 1, gap -4, no outline, and no center dot.

What mouse does NiKo use? NiKo uses the Razer DeathAdder V4 PRO NiKo Edition — a custom signature mouse developed in partnership between NiKo and Razer, featuring the Focus Pro 35K optical sensor at 1000Hz polling rate.


Conclusion

NiKo’s settings are worth studying because they reflect a philosophy of mechanical excellence refined over more than a decade of elite competition. The 560 eDPI prioritizes precision over speed. The blue-green crosshair maximizes contrast in competitive map environments. The 4:3 stretched resolution widens player models for easier tracking. Every choice is purposeful, and every choice has been validated across ten consecutive HLTV Top 20 appearances.

His personal story adds depth to the settings — the internet café in Brčko that gave him his start, the cousin who became a professional teammate, the girlfriend who shares his private life, and the Major trophy that remains the one item his extraordinary career has not yet delivered. At 29, with karrigan’s IGL leadership beside him and m0nesy as his partner at Falcons, the window is not closed. The IEM Cologne Major 2026 is live as this article is published, and NiKo is still one of the game’s most dangerous players on any given day.

The settings will get you closer to how he plays. The career tells you why it matters.


Settings verified against specs.gg (updated June 2026), ProSettings.net, and Hotspawn. Career statistics from HLTV, Wikipedia, and ggscore.com as of June 2026. Settings change — this article is updated when NiKo makes confirmed configuration changes.

Looking for more CS2 player profiles? Read our guides on donk CS2 age and settings, m0nesy CS2 settings, the best CS2 maps in 2026 and Raistar UID: Free Fire ID.

By Kriss Prat

Kriss Prat is a gaming writer and lifelong gamer with over 15 years of experience playing and analyzing video games across every major platform. He has been writing about games professionally since 2018, covering everything from AAA sports simulations to indie strategy titles and retro classics. Kriss grew up conquering castles in Heroes of Might and Magic 3 and has followed the evolution of strategy and PC gaming from the golden age of turn-based titles through the modern era of 4X giants and indie strategy gems. His articles focus on helping players cut through the noise — finding games genuinely worth their time across a crowded and rapidly changing market. When he's not writing, Kriss is deep in a Heroes of Might and Magic 3 campaign, debating optimal town builds, and maintaining a personal backlog he optimistically describes as "almost under control." His work on AboutGameWorld has been read by over 10 thousands of readers monthly, and he brings a player-first perspective to every recommendation he makes.

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