NiKo says EliGE needs to step up for FaZe amidst worst year since 2016

It's been a tough 2025 campaign for FaZe, with only two top four finishes to their credit, and the lackluster showing has led to many placing the responsibility on Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski.

FaZe themselves are very aware of the struggles they're facing, evidenced by the title of their latest IEM Cologne vlog: "We're Not A Team Right Now."

The vlog released today references some words from one of the game's most prolific riflers in Nikola "NiKo" Kovač, who said in a recent ESL roundtable that EliGE needed to be the one to step up. Here's the full quote from NiKo from the original ESL video:

"I think for this lineup to work, I think a lot needs to come down to EliGE, in my opinion. He needs to be the man that is leading them in the round. He needs to be getting entries. He needs to be trading. He needs to be the pillar of the team, in my opinion, if they want to make it work."

"I think it's just down to him to deliver...They obviously put frozen in Robban's [ropz] role, but he's not Robban, not even close. Frozen is still playing good, but I feel like he's not the difference maker in the rounds that they play, and I feel like EliGE needs to be that guy. He needs to be the leader he was in Complexity, somehow, I don't know how, but he needs to be that player."

In the latest FaZe vlog, EliGE said that he didn't view NiKo's comments as trash talk, but said that it's "a little bit difficult" for him to play at his Complexity level. He admitted that it's been harder for him to play in the more "free-flowing" style that he wants, and has been playing more in the style of what the team overall wants.

From a statistical standpoint, it has been a down year for EliGE. In 2025, he's averaging a 1.10 player rating, the lowest in his career since 2016 when it was 1.05. The performance is clearly weighing on him, showing visible signs of exasperation and frustration more than once in their latest video.

There are a number of opportunities for FaZe and EliGE to get things sorted before the next Major though, including EWC and the BLAST Open Fall Closed Qualifier over the next couple of weeks.