Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko is one of the greatest Endpoint alumni there is. After departing the UK org in January 2024, HeavyGod made his way through OG and Cloud9 before settling on G2, where he finds himself today.
With the G2 badge on his chest, HeavyGod finds himself back in the UK. G2 triumphed with a decisive win over crowd favourites FaZe Clan in the quarter-finals, to find themselves up against Furia in the semi-finals later today.
Chatting to UKCSGO after their quarter-final victory, HeavyGod talks about their match Versus FaZe, Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač’s calling on stage, and his thoughts on Tier-2 CS at the moment.
G2 entering the OVO Arena Wembley
Congratulations on your first win in London. How are you feeling after that match?
Obviously, I’m really happy; a win is a win, it doesn’t matter how it happens. I’m happy with our team’s performance. I just hope we can show even better CS for the next game.
G2’s first map on Inferno was a dominating win. Was it just you guys playing your game? Was it anti-strat? Or was it a mixture of the two?
Yeah, we had a really good anti-strat. I also think huNter- was calling insanely good, and he was reading the game. He was just calling from his gut, on his feelings. We were prepped really good for what we want to do on the map. Basically, I think we just showed good CS.
Moving onto the second map, you guys had to dig a bit deeper, pushing the game into overtime and then double overtime. What were the emotions in the camp like as you were trying to push this game over the line?
Obviously, I think we were a bit stressed in some of the rounds. We always try to say to each other: “Stay accountable, let’s chill, guys, let’s not stress the comms and let’s just keep up playing the game because we can win still.” We just believed in that, and then we came back. In the end, we got the W.
This was huNter-‘s first time on the stage as in IGL, what was that like? Did you notice any differences between how he calls when he’s in a studio, for example, versus when he’s on stage?
No, to be honest, I didn’t notice any difference. I think huNter- is a really experienced player as an IGL and as a player, so it doesn’t really matter. I think he understands the balance for it because he has played on a lot of stages.
He can do his best because he has experience. I think he’s doing a really good job, and he’s really working hard, putting in a lot of effort, a lot of hours. I didn’t notice the difference.
HeavyGod celebrating after beating FaZe
Tomorrow, you’ve got a match-up versus Furia. How are you feeling about the match tomorrow, and do you think you can make it to the grand finals?
We will see tomorrow, obviously. We are going to prepare well. We are going to have a good sleep, I think that’s important. We are going to do our best to win tomorrow. Because we faced each other in Cologne twice, now we need to win again. We are going to do our best for the game to make it happen.
Obviously, UK fans are familiar with you coming through Endpoint. How are you feeling about the state of Tier-2 CS at the moment?
I’m watching a bit of Tier-2 cs. I’m still friends with MiGHTYMAX and Surreal, and I’m still in contact with them. I just want to see it grow, because I grew up through Tier-3 and Tier-2, so I really want it to go up.
I think it’s important to maintain CS in any tier. Have tournaments and give VRS points to the smaller tournaments as well, so that orgs and teams can grow. I think it’s important for every team and Org to have the space for it.
