#16 Nium: Top 20 Players of Black Ops 7

The #16 player of the Black Ops 7 season is LA Thieves rookie AR, Jeremiah "Nium" Harrison.

Nium's rise from Challengers rookie to CDL Rookie of the Year happened almost overnight, and by the time the season wrapped up, he'd already helped LA Thieves reach a Major final and a bronze-medal finish at the Esports World Cup. It wasn't a perfect year, with LA falling short in the two biggest moments of the season, but Nium's growth from academy prospect to key piece of a superteam made him one of the standout stories of Black Ops 7.

Season Review

Nium began the season in Challengers, signing with OpTic's academy team, the Huntsmen, alongside fellow rookie Nicholas "Kips" Lyons, ex-Halo player Jonathan "Renegade" Willette, and prospect Rspi. The team flashed real talent early, finishing Top 4 at the first Elite event and 4th at the Dallas Open. That performance was enough to get Kips signed by Toronto KOI and Nium signed by LA Thieves heading into Stage II. Nium reportedly had a choice between Carolina Royal Ravens and LA, ultimately choosing to join the superteam as a substitute in January before being promoted into the starting lineup in February in place of Kenneth "Kenny" Williams.

Nium provided an immediate jolt of energy for LA during the Major II Qualifiers, though the results against the league's best still lagged behind. The Thieves went 7-4 with a 26-17 map count, good for the 3rd seed, with losses to FaZe Vegas (2-3), OpTic Texas (1-3), and Riyadh Falcons (0-3) leaving plenty to work on. Going into Major II, LA drew a tough first-round matchup against FaZe Vegas, and in Nium's LAN debut, the Thieves fell 2-3, sending them to the Lower Bracket. They rebounded by beating Miami Heretics 3-0 and G2 Minnesota 3-1, before falling to KOI 0-3, finishing 4th at the event but showing real room to grow in the second half of the season.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Stage III brought another solid qualifier, with LA finishing the Major III Qualifiers 3-2 to claim the 3rd seed. During qualifying, the Thieves also won the opening Minor, beating Minnesota 3-0, OpTic 3-2, and Miami 4-2 in the Grand Final. Their next task was translating that online success to LAN. Heading into Major III, LA went clean through Pool Play, beating The Pit 3-1 and Boston Breach 3-0 to advance out of Pool C. FaZe continued to have their number, though, beating LA 3-2 to send them into the Lower Bracket to open the Playoffs. LA responded with a statement run, beating Minnesota (3-1), Riyadh (3-0), Vegas (3-1), and Toronto (3-0) on the way to the Grand Final, where they beat OpTic 4-3 in a seven-map thriller. It marked Nium's first professional LAN title.

LA stayed spotless through the Major IV Qualifiers, going a flawless 5-0 with a 15-7 map count. They won the Minor again as well, taking down G2 (3-0), FaZe (3-0), and OpTic (4-2), becoming the first team to win two Minors in a single season. Chasing a second straight Major title, LA opened by beating the Royal Ravens 3-0, got revenge on FaZe with a 3-2 win in Winners Round 2, and swept OpTic 3-0 in the Winners Final to reach the Grand Final. But OpTic got their revenge in the biggest moment, winning a seven-map thriller 4-3 to claim their first Major title, leaving Nium and LA to settle for 2nd heading into the CDL Championship.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Scrap and HyDra had come up short at the CDL Championship the year before under LAT, and this season carried the same storyline. LA fell 1-3 to Riyadh and 2-3 to Minnesota, eliminated Top 8 at the biggest tournament of the year. After winning the CDL's Regular Season Rookie of the Year award, that result was a tough pill to swallow for Nium and the rest of the roster.

The Thieves needed a bounce-back at the Esports World Cup to end the year on solid footing, competing under the 100 Thieves banner for the event. They started clean, beating Boston 3-0 and OpTic 3-2 to reach the playoffs. In the Quarterfinals, 100 Thieves swept Movistar KOI 4-0 and looked every bit the team to beat heading into the Semifinals. That run came to an end there, falling 3-4 to OpTic Gaming and dropping into the Bronze Medal match. After a slow start, 100 Thieves rallied to win 4-3, closing out the season with a 3rd-place finish at EWC.

How Good Was Nium in 2026?

Hardpoint

Nium's individual numbers in Hardpoint weren't flashy, finishing the year with a 0.97 K/D, 23.0 kills per 10 minutes, 3,095 damage per 10 minutes, and 67.2 seconds of hill time per 10 minutes. He was able to elevate his K/D to 1.00 on LAN. His true value showed up in the team's record when he played well: LA posted the 2nd-highest win rate in the league in maps where a player finished with a positive K/D, winning 90.7% (39-4) of Hardpoints when Nium went positive.

Search & Destroy

Nium finished the year with a 1.00 K/D in SND, adding 0.65 kills per round, 100.7 ADR, a 55.6% opening duel win rate, and 8 clutches won. He also raised his level against the toughest competition, posting a 1.14 K/D and a 73% opening duel win rate against OpTic Texas, along with a 1.06 K/D against FaZe Vegas.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Overload

Overload was Nium's best mode of the season. He finished the year with a 0.97 K/D, 23.5 kills per 10 minutes, 3,085 damage per 10 minutes, and 61 goals scored. He was remarkably consistent in front of goal, tallying 6 hat tricks and becoming one of the first players in the league to score four goals in a single game. LA went 22-3 (88%) in Overload maps where Nium finished with a positive K/D.

A Look Ahead to Modern Warfare IV

Nium announced he's a restricted free agent heading into the offseason, a move widely read as a sign that HyDra and Scrap are set to return to LA Thieves for their third season together, with rumors suggesting the two want to rebuild the roster around a fresh core if they come back.

That could mean Nium finds himself outside the top tier of teams next season, but he should still be in high demand regardless. The rookie AR proved throughout the year that he's one of the best team pieces in the league, someone who consistently rose to the occasion in the biggest matches of the season.