Marios “Nivek” Bitsikokos is a pro fighting game player in franchises like Tekken and Mortal Kombat. The Team Phantasma player creates content when he isn’t knocking out opponents across the globe.

Learn more about what it means to be a professional in the fighting game community, plus differences between the North American and European Mortal Kombat 11 meta.

How did you get into competitive gaming?

I went to a tournament more than 15 years ago playing Tekken 4 and Tekken 5. Back in the day it was not as big of a community. I did OK but I was a noob and couldn’t do basic, necessary techniques.

When did you realize you could go pro?

After my second ever tournament, I got approached by some guys who lived near me and they became mentors, especially Darkslayer. He told me I had the potential to go far and I used that as motivation to level up.

I would watch internet videos of great players and eventually I won my first tournament for Street Fighter 4 using Dhalsim. I was a 3D fighting games player and I won a 2D game. It was a big thing back in the day.

What happened next?

I went into more tournaments counting frames and maximizing my combos and thinking about psychology and not just pressing buttons. I started thinking professionally.

You started thinking about the game differently?

Even though I was a new player I was losing to more experienced players who didn’t know anything about frames. They would play by feel. Learning frames makes you better.

I have the advantage of experience now and the knowledge of frames gives me a better perspective of the game not only in math but in how my opponent will react in every situation.

For example, if I put pressure on my opponent in the corner in the first round or two, I’ll understand how they’ll react defensively. I’ll see if they counter poke or if they try to find a gap in my offense later to try and take advantage of me. I know that through years of experience and practice.

With that in mind, what separates a pro gamer from everyone else?

It’s a combination of everything but talent is a great start. Anyone can make a name for themselves because with a little talent and a lot of hard work you can catch up to the pros fairly easily. Especially with the latest games where all the knowledge is available.

Frame data in the game and all that kind of info will help new players. Also, there’s the chance to scam or gimmick an opponent and they won’t know what hit them. 

Anyone can become a higher level player with time to practice.

What is the biggest surprise for EU players competing in the NA meta? 

The online meta is more scrambled and we don’t have the offline accuracy. The surprise in the EU compared to America is we evolve exponentially in comparison to the NA Pro Series. They have a lot of the same players winning every time. In Europe, almost every month and week you see a different winner.

In Europe we look forward to winning and achieving and getting better no matter what. In America, we see some upsets here and there but in Europe we see ten to 15 regularly. The Euro meta sees way more players rise up every week.

What’s your daily practice schedule look like?

I started streaming regularly in 2020 but I got burned out because it was hard to train and entertain at the same time, especially for someone like me who’s not used to playing online.

Right now my training schedule is about revisiting the basics with coaching and giving private lessons. 

I try to stream twice a week and learn a new character every fifteen days. That helps me with content creating and also helps me learn the character. And of course lobby and training mode by myself I can go from one hour to ten hours doing that.

Why did you choose Jacqui as a main?

I was a Kabal main for the first year with some Jacqui. I did like her as a character but I thought she was missing something though. With the third variation update in 2019 I started playing her more. I got the intercontinental in Sweden with her. It was one of my biggest achievements in later years.

Right now online I’ve mained her for more than a year but lately I’ve been using different characters to surprise my opponents and get different matchups. 

I don’t think she has any bad matchups but online characters can get away with a lot of stuff so I wanted to get other characters online instead of trying to play my offline game online.

Thanks again to Nivek for taking the time to chat! For more from one of the longest standing competitive NetherRealm players, check out Nivek’s Final Round interview with Ketchup and Mustard.

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