It was previously reported that HooXi would not be able to participate at IEM Dallas 2024 due to the fact that he would be at his sister's wedding and would be replaced by Stewie2K.
NiKo noted that he is not sure about the exact timing of when Stewie was selected as a backup, as that decision was largely made by management. The team wasn't really involved, although they gave their thoughts and ideas, but the final decision rested with the management.
NiKo revealed that they had previously chatted with YNk about ESL content and mentioned that they practiced with Stewie despite his high ping at 170. They had about five days of training, which was helpful because they were able to work on many things that would not have been possible without the training. The focus was on executing strategies rather than creating complex defaults or individual plays. The goal was to have some reference points in case something went wrong so that NiKo, not knowing much about the new player, could feel more confident. NiKo said that Stewie practiced with a ping of 160, playing from 3am to 10am, which was hard for him, but he tried and gave his best and it paid off.
He also shared that being the IGL at the event, he is not the only one who offers ideas. The team, including Nemanja “huNter” Kovač, helps him. NiKo tries to give the players more freedom for individual actions and ideas to simplify the game rather than following a strict 5 on 5 format. All players, including Stewie and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, have their own roles and room to maneuver. Nemanja “nexa” Isakovi is consistently blocking rounds. When NiKo is having a hard time, the team supports him. Everyone is happy with the start of the tournament.
![[EXCLUSIVE] TaZ after last match with NiKo: “I hope that we managed to give back to him as well, that he became a better player or person”](https://image-proxy.bo3.gg/uploads/news/83416/title_image/webp-7324f2e6ff79a244d043ba3c2f5ca9e8.webp.webp?w=150&h=150)
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