We are thrilled to present an exclusive interview with a figure who needs no introduction within the CS:GO community – the people’s favorite charismatic and jacked streamer and content maker, Nikola “Lobanjica” Mijomanović.

Known for his high-energy streams and unique sense of rough Balkan humor, Loba has carved a niche for himself in the streaming community. His infectious passion for the game and his unwavering dedication have inspired thousands of fans and fellow players worldwide.

Today, we delve into Loba’s journey, gaining insight into his experiences, challenges, and inspirations that shaped his impressive streaming career in CS:GO. Let’s go!

In article you will find:

A Little Bit Of Everything About Loba

In case you never stumbled upon Loba’s streams on Twitch, here is a piece of his biography to learn more about him before we proceed with the interview.

Nikola “Lobanjica” Mijomanović, also known as LobaIsLove or DaddyLoba, is a Montenegrin Counter-Strike: Global Offensive streamer, content maker, semi-professional player, and a dear friend of Hellcase. He even has his own case on our website, the Loba Case. Also, he is good at trolling his friends and teammates.

Loba is also well-known for his impressive physique, which he maintains with regular fitness training — a rare dedication in the esports world, where the focus is often solely on gaming skills.

Not many people know that Lobanjica used to breakdance, and he even performed in Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 for the Montenegrian artist Rambo Amadeus as a dancer. Here is the performance:

Above all, Loba is renowned for his positive attitude and camaraderie. Whether he’s sharing tips with aspiring players, engaging with his fans on social media, or streaming live on Twitch, Loba always brings an infectious energy that makes the esports community a more vibrant place. Now, let’s kick off our interview with Nikola.

Let’s Start!

To start off, how did you get into competitive gaming, and why Counter-Strike?

Friendship and fun. I owned a gaming place when I was a kid, and I would run away from water polo practice to play games with friends (Diablo, CS 1.3, Red Alert, Warcraft 3) in another gaming place, then come back home and play in my gaming place, wet my hair, my stuff to trick my mom and just play with friends.

So as soon as I finished college and found a job, all my free time was dedicated to workout, my dog, and games for fun. Then it turned into a real thing eventually, thanks to all the fans of the game who somehow started liking me.

Which team or player has had the most significant influence on your playstyle and why?

I don’t think anyone had an influence on my playstyle. I think that nowadays, you can notice many pro players taking influence from my playstyle in FPL, like sitting in smokes, playing SMG as entry, or getting map control to make more space for teammates, etc. I came in with something unique in 2016 since nobody then knew about the smoke bug, radar bug, and all those other tricks.

Do you think the esports has evolved over the years, & what future changes do you anticipate?

The eSports industry is growing, but the pro scene is not. The pro players are not growing their socials and interacting with fans, so we do not have many players like olofmeister, flusha, JW, pashabicep, get_right, and forest, because those people had personalities and interacted with fans, and people loved them.

You can’t love someone only because of headshots, you love him for his persona, but nowadays, players don’t even wanna do any content, games for fun, or interviews, they don’t show their personality, and they are shy or antisocial, so the fans cant connect with them.

If there is any, can you tell us about your favorite moment with your teammates outside the game?

When we were in BLAST Belgrade boot camp, the first time we actually met in real life after so much gaming together. These were the best days, and we connected the best even though we lost. We really enjoyed each other’s company. I can’t just name one situation now, but all those days were perfect and fun and amazing with d0c, KD, and Spawn.

If you had to pick a different game to play professionally, what would it be and why?

I would never want to be a professional gamer, it’s a busy schedule, it’s too many things you have to give up, and too much pressure. Yet, you don’t have time for family, friends, cars, dogs, workouts, or relationships. Money, more or less than I have now, wouldn’t change my life a lot. I’d still be doing the same things I’m doing, so I wouldn’t play professionally, but I would love to stream racing games and IRL if I even get a chance and if people would enjoy that. I know they love watching me play horror games because I cry and scream like a girl.

How important is physical fitness for pro gamers and what’s your workout routine like?

I think workouts are important. Not necessarily fitness or gym, as long as you have a workout or hobby that gets your body moving, it’s definitely beneficial for your health and your gaming. The better your health is, the better you gonna feel and play. My workout is really s1mple, no days off. I go: day 1 – chest, day 2 – back, day 3 – shoulders, day 4 – triceps and biceps, day 5 – legs, day 6 – cardio and abs, repeat.

How do you mentally and physically prepare before a tournament or an important match?

Not the person to ask this, but we as a team talk a lot, discuss, do aimbots, and play DM, but I never had a mental coach to teach me what and how I should do preparation. I just go in and try to feel comfortable. If I don’t, I kinda shut down and go silent, as I am not a really strong mental player, and professional gaming needs that 100%.

What advice would you give your younger self about pursuing an esports career?

Appreciate where you are at because it won’t happen again, and use the opportunity for 120%. What happened to me is I was in the golden days of FPL, and I didn’t accept sponsors, didn’t stream, and didn’t really do much. I just played and enjoyed the game.

If I appreciated where I was and tried harder and played, and streamed it more and earlier, I think I would have had a bigger fanbase, reach, opportunities, etc. I am not sad about where I am right now, but I do believe I could have done much more if I was smarter and used the opportunities better.

Loba on BLAST.tv Paris CS:GO Major 2023

Loba got a slot at the BLAST.tv Paris CS:GO Major 2023 Asia RMR after placing second at the Middle East Closed Qualifiers together with Twisted Minds. His team lost the first BO1 to TheMongolz, won two matches against VERTEX and Eruption, but did not manage to qualify for the main event because of their defeat to Rare Atom.

Although Nikola did not attend the main event, he still watched it and cheered for his favorite teams. Let’s find out what issues Twisted Minds faced at the Asia RMR and what Loba thinks about the last Major in CS:GO history.

What was the biggest challenge for Twisted Minds at the BLAST.tv Paris Major Asia RMR?

Our biggest challenge was to feel comfortable. We kept switching computers, monitors, and setups. The conditions were awful. All in all, we were disappointed, and we didn’t really get comfortable at our first LAN. That was 100% the biggest challenge because when we watched the games, we saw so many stupid mistakes we wouldn’t usually let happen. Never. For example, in the 2vs1 on Mirage, I choked because of pressure and insecurities, like so much I can’t even describe.

Did you cheer for any specific team during the Major?

I cheered for FaZe Clan and NAVI, I love guys from those two teams. They are really great people outside of the game, and knowing that makes me wish the best for them.

Which underdog teams did you think could surprise CS:GO fans at the Major?

This happened with Apeks and GamerLegion, but I was sure it would be Bad News Eagle back then.

Which team did you think would lift the BLAST.tv Paris Major trophy?

I thought it would be NAVI or FaZe Clan, but somehow it was Vitality. I’m REALLY happy apEX got it, as he really is a hard worker and a great person, not to mention FUNNY as f*ck, but Vitality is not my favorite team.

Streaming Career & Content Making

Lobanija is most famous for streaming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and creating vlogs on various topics. He has more than 485,000 followers on his Twitch channel and more than 178,000 subscribers on his Youtube channel. Let’s ask about his streaming career.

What inspired you to start streaming, and do you remember your first-ever stream?

My friend Junuz forced me to do it because he saw me playing on other streams and noticed what I was doing with trolling and joking, the Balkan humor. He thought that I would make it big if people could put a face behind the troll and see that whenever I say something toxic, it’s simply me laughing about it and trying to just trigger a reaction to continue having fun and make a rival environment, in which where we play to win, just to be able to talk trash to each other after the game. That’s where “wat happened last game” came from and “wat doink last game” as well.

What is the most challenging thing about being a CS:GO streamer?

It is being consistent and streaming even when you are sad, tilt, and have personal problems, which the fans don’t wanna see. They don’t wanna see you sad or having issues or being depressed, they will leave.

So, you have got to be able to forget whatever is happening and put up a good show for them to enjoy, and you have to enjoy it too. I’m often bad at this because if I get mad or sad, I can’t restart, I can’t act, but you have to. You have to kinda exaggerate reactions and act “stupid” because people like that acting.

What do you enjoy the most in content creating and vlogging?

It inspires me when I watch it. When I see what I did in a vlog and how I spent my day or saved and recorded a cool memory or situation and then rewatch it, see the comments, feel again what I felt then, see the editor making it even better, I feel more motivated to do it. I can always go back and “re-live” it.

I can go back, watch it, and say, “OMG, I remember this! This was so good, I should do this again. It’s going to make me happy and feel good”. Or “I was so happy then. Why did I stop doing this”. It’s things like that, or when I organized a bench press tournament and gave prize money, that was cool, as lots of kids came, “tryharded”, laughed, and cheered. That’s what I wanna do more.

If you had to pick between streaming & being a pro player, which option would you stick with?

Streaming. As I already explained, basically, streaming is more of a connection with people. You can do more good stuff, you have more free time, you can show who you really are, you can have more fun, and everything is better.

Are there any favorite moments you remember from your streaming experience?

Games with s1mple and Xantares are the ones I remember the most, and I laugh whenever I remember them. It was the best time of my gaming. They bullied me so much, and I loved it. It was funny and entertaining, and it is sad I didn’t play more. I wasn’t aware of the moment and situation, and how blessed I was, how good that era was. I miss that.

I miss Olof, jw, s1mple, xantares, dennis, krimz, tabsen, fallen. These people were laughing, tryharding, bullying, flaming, trash talking on the server. We had our moments when we would sit at four o’clock in the morning on TeamSpeak, fifteen of us, not playing, just talking and laughing. s1mple would come and ask, “Guys, what’s the meaning of life?” We all would reply and laugh. Then I would say something stupid, and the others would bully me. I don’t know. Just so much good stuff happened back then.

Loba’s Honest Opinion on Counter-Strike 2

So far, Nikola is probably the biggest hater of Counter-Strike 2, and he has been actively sharing his thoughts and feelings about the biggest update in the history of the series on his Twitter account.

Let’s find out how Lobanjica feels about the upcoming release of Counter-Strike 2.

Your first impressions of CS2. Have you changed your opinion about the update?

My first impression was that it was bad. I look at it a bit differently now. I see that after they had been working on the game and the engine for 5 years, they brought in nothing special. It is just Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with a bit more saturated colors and a million bugs while also more noob-friendly.

Delusional Twitter fans who didn’t even play the game are happy about it and say, “It’s just beta. CS:GO was worse,” and I say, “5 years, and you give me this trash”. I have seen many pros come out to say something bad and get hated on with, “Ah, pros can only complain”. So, most of them don’t even write anything publicly or share their thoughts with fans.

In your opinion, what is the best and worst change in Counter-Strike 2?

The best change is the new color scheme, and the worst change is the “tickless” servers. Now, matchmaking will still be broken with cheaters, while the tickless servers won’t be able to get configured to 128-tick, as the developers of Faceit told me. So, we are stuck with the same trash servers both on matchmaking and Faceit, a slower game, worse movement, and bigger hitboxes so that noobs can aim better. Good for me, though.

How do you think the release of Counter-Strike 2 can impact the pro scene, if it will at all?

In my opinion, everything is going to continue as it is. It might bring in more money and attract more people to play since now it is easier to play the game. Other than that, I don’t think much will change, especially not in terms of in-game matchmaking quality, because Valve won’t make an official leaderboard, a decent anti-cheat, or anything relevant.

The update might get the skins to rise in price, though, because they look cooler in Counter-Strike 2 with the digital vibrance set to 300%, and we will get more players joining the game because of the hype.

If you could remove one map from the upcoming CS2, which one would you choose and why?

I would permanently delete Nuke or Vertigo, both maps, for the same reasons. The sounds are bad, and especially on Nuke, you need a lot of communication which you don’t get in normal pugs or semi-competitive pugs. So, I would remove these two maps and bring Cobblestone and Train back in.

What’s Inside Loba’s CS:GO Inventory?

If we take a look inside Nikola’s CS:GO inventory, we can find a collection with a bunch of attention-worthy skins, such as the Factory New Butterfly Knife | Slaughter, which is the most expensive knife in his arsenal so far, and Falchion Knife | Doppler Sapphire, which is probably the most vibrant one.

What is your all-time favorite CS:GO skin for a knife?

Butterfly Knife | Gamma Doppler (Factory New). I have a Sapphire Falchion Knife right now, and it is gorgeous too.

How often do you freshen up your CS:GO inventory?

I don’t do this very often. Also, everything I win on Hellcase and withdraw, I give away on my streams to fans. Thanks to Hellcase, I have really amazing opportunities, and I share the winnings I get with my viewers, either through giveaways on Hellcase or on the stream.

Do you have any CS:GO skins that you use as lucky charms?

No, I don’t get tied up to things, not even my cars.

How many cars do you own?

Five, so far. I have Nissan GTR R35, BMW G20 330i, Nissan 350zHR, Mazda RX8, and BMW F30.

Have you ever tried creating custom CS:GO skins?

Never tried it.

Do you think we will ever get animated weapon skins in Counter-Strike 2?

That would be cool, I would definitely love to see that in-game.

Why Loba Trusts Hellcase?

True friendship requires trust, and Loba has trust in Hellcase. He likes that the platform is provably fair, offers generous deals, and has great value for money. Let’s hear from Loba himself.

Which case-opening websites do you prefer and why?

Everyone knows that I have always been using Hellcase. What I like about it is the biggest deposit bonus and transparent percentage odds of which CS:GO skins you can win in each weapon case. It offers great value for money.

I can open a case like Tiger Tooth Family and be sure that I will get something I can actually use, like the Gut, which is cool, or even a Butterfly or a Karambit. The odds are really good.

What makes you trust a third-party case-opening platform?

Seeing that they have a lot of active users, knowing how long they have been on the scene, seeing who exactly are the people promoting and using it. Also, the website has to have the Provably Fair system implemented. Hellcase matches all criteria.

What are your Top-3 cases on Hellcase?

I would say that my favorite case on Hellcase is Ruby Cherry. Then, I should mention the Tiger Tooth Family one. Last but not least, …

What was your best drop from Hellcase, and which case was it from?

I got a Butterfly Knife | Fade from the Fucanlong Case. It was really nice.

In your opinion, what are the three best CS:GO skins from the Loba Case?

I really like Survival Knife | Stained. As for the best gun skins in the case, I think I’d go with M4A1-S | Player Two and M4A1-S | Cyrex. Yes, these are my favorite skins from the Loba Case, but there are many more interesting ones in there. Check it out, maybe.

Wrapping Up!

We hope that you enjoyed learning more about Lobanjica together with Hellcase. Make sure to follow Nikola on Twitch if you do not already, and catch him in action on his next stream. Check out his YouTube channel for vlogs from eSports events, stream edits, and more.

Explore Hellcase Blog for more content about Counter-Strike skins and other cosmetic items, in-depth game guides, and esports news. Stay tuned!