G2 picks up nexa to replace jks on CS2 roster

Nemanja “nexa” Isaković is back on G2 after nearly two years away, the organization confirmed on Nov. 21. The Serbian will replace the Australian rifler Justin “jks” Savage in the active CS2 lineup with immediate effect.

Ever since HLTV reported on Nov. 9 that G2 was set to bench jks, there were expectations that nexa would replace him as he was reportedly one of the players considered for the role. For now, it’s expected that nexa will only serve as a pure rifler and take on jks’ roles.

But given the fact he was in-game leading for OG and also was G2’s IGL years ago, the community was speculating that nexa will eventually become G2’s IGL again and the organization may part ways with Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, according to nexa.

“Starting a new chapter in my career as a rifler and grateful for the opportunity to do it alongside some of the best in the game,” nexa wrote on Twitter.

The jks-nexa swap comes mere weeks after NiKo turned down an offer from Falcons after G2 and the Saudi organization reportedly had already agreed on the transfer. Falcons also came knocking on G2’s door for m0NESY but G2’s general manager Petar “⁠peca⁠” Marković made it clear that m0NESY wasn’t for sale at “any price.”

Though the past weeks have been quite tumultuous for G2’s CS2 division as a result of the uncertainty in the roster, the organization is having its most successful year in Counter-Strike esports ever. After G2 picked up jks and HooXi in August 2022, they won the BLAST Premier World Final in December 2022, IEM Katowice in February, and IEM Cologne in August.

Nexa played for G2 between May 2019 to January 2022, when he departed for OG. During that time, he played with NiKo and huNter, and most notably led G2 to a second-place finish at the PGL Stockholm Major in November 2021.

It’s currently unclear when nexa will debut for G2 in this new stint as the team is only scheduled to play at the BLAST Premier World Final between Dec. 13 and 17 but could play an online tournament before that.