G2 CEO Blames m0NESY for the Roster Fallout
In a recent appearance on HLTV Confirmed, G2 Esports CEO Alban “Stilgar” Dechelotte offered a detailed — and at times baffling — look into the organization’s collapse following the departures of star players Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov. What should have been an honest reflection on leadership failings turned instead into a poorly disguised attempt to shift the blame, with much of it landing squarely on the shoulders of 19-year-old m0NESY.
“Ilya is famous for saying, ‘let me play CS,’” Stilgar said.
“He said he wasn’t ready for a decision. I respect that, but some players are more decisive in building a roster around them.”
He went on to compare m0NESY unfavorably to Vitality’s ZywOo, who supposedly recruited ropz to join him. For G2’s CEO to expect a teenager — one under constant pressure and poaching attempts — to carry the strategic future of the team is a glaring misread of responsibility.
m0NESY wasn't the captain. He wasn't the GM. He was the AWPer. And somehow, his lack of interest in team management has now become a talking point for G2’s downfall.
Selling the Future to Save Face
Dechelotte confirmed that the decision to sell m0NESY came as a safeguard against losing him for free when his contract expired in December. Russian organizations like Team Spirit and Virtus.pro had reportedly been circling, and the fear of losing a generational asset without financial return ultimately drove G2 to cash in.
“There was a real risk that in June, a team with donk and electroNic might have come and tried to convince him to sign.”
Rather than build around m0NESY — the so-called "heart of the G2 project" — G2 let him go to Falcons months before his contract expired. All the while insisting, “it was never about the money.” But the decision says otherwise.
This reeks of shortsighted crisis management. Rather than addressing the cultural and strategic failings within G2, the organization cashed out — a move that prioritized the boardroom over the scoreboard.
A Leadership Vacuum and Internal Chaos
The root of G2’s crisis dates back to late 2023. Despite winning both IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne, the team was already breaking at the seams. NiKo was secretly in talks with Falcons. m0NESY, tired of the instability and drawn to stronger Russian offers, wanted out if NiKo left. huNter- was eyeing Vitality. The core trio — the backbone of G2’s success — all had one foot out the door, yet Dechelotte and the leadership failed to contain the damage.
Instead, they began tinkering with the roster’s fringes — planning to replace jks and HooXi — while ignoring that their foundation was disintegrating. How did management not see this coming?
Underestimating NiKo, Mismanaging m0NESY
Dechelotte admits that G2 “underestimated the impact of NiKo” and took his departure “too lightly.” That alone is an indictment of the org’s leadership. NiKo is arguably the most influential rifler of the last five years, and yet his desire to stay was initially rebuffed — only for G2 to backpedal after he agreed to extend his contract.
Even then, when G2 tried to hand him captaincy after their IEM Dallas win, they failed to align their vision with his. Instead of empowering their superstar, they ended up alienating him — again.
G2 won IEM Dallas 2024 with Stewie2k subbing in for Hooxi (Image Source: ESL)And as for m0NESY? He was caught in the crossfire, with no clear direction, forced to watch the team crumble around him. Rather than build a stable environment for their 19-year-old centerpiece, G2 put the burden of leadership on his shoulders, then blamed him for not carrying it.
Tone-Deaf Defenses and Questionable Decisions
Throughout the interview, Stilgar defended two key figures in G2’s leadership: general manager Petar "peca" Marković and head coach Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas. Despite growing criticism over peca’s role in the roster fallout, Stilgar insisted all decisions were “rational” and “collective,” while failing to acknowledge the leadership shortcomings that allowed the team to fall apart.
The narrative instead pinned blame on players—NiKo for secret talks with Falcons, m0NESY for indecision, and huNter- for wanting out—without any reflection on the internal dysfunction that pushed them away. TaZ’s hiring was similarly mishandled; only HooXi advocated for a different coach, but the org ignored that input, favoring players already set to leave.
TaZ may be a "fantastic human being," but fans are right to question if that qualifies him to lead such a high-caliber team. Rather than offering accountability, Stilgar’s defense of his management team felt like corporate loyalty masking a deeper leadership failure.
Leadership Failure Dressed as PR Damage Control
What G2’s management — and Dechelotte in particular — fail to acknowledge is this: the implosion of this roster wasn’t because of m0NESY’s indecisiveness, NiKo’s disloyalty, or HooXi’s coaching preferences. It was the product of a disorganized, reactive leadership team more concerned with optics than long-term planning.
You don’t lose stars like NiKo and m0NESY without serious internal dysfunction. And when the CEO uses a public interview to downplay the org’s role while subtly throwing shade at a 19-year-old, it reveals everything you need to know about where the real failure lies.
G2 didn’t just lose their stars — they lost the plot.
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Featured Image Credits: ESL
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