Another change?
NiP’s catastrophic CS2 RMR experience is reportedly the final nail in the coffin. The international squad is set to replace three players in their five-man lineup, following their bombing out of the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen European RMRs.
After placing dead-last in the RMRs alongside Into the Breach, the once prestigious Swedish org plans on benching Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke, Patrick "es3tag" Hansen, and Daniil "headtr1ck" Valitov, according to HLTV reports.
This leaves Alejandro "alex" Masanet and Fredrik "REZ" Sterner as the remaining two players in NiP’s active lineup. It seems the org is committed to building the roster around alex, according to reports. REZ has managed to dodge NiP’s bench since he joined in 2017, and has done so once again.
Ninjas in Pyjamas are asleep at the wheel
NiP’s RMR woes began when they faced Eternal Fire in their initial matchup, leading to a 13-11 loss. The next few games didn’t go NiP’s way either.
Both AMKAL and SAW managed to take down NiP. Now, everyone the Ninjas faced made it through to the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024. Unfortunately for NiP, this is just another day at the office.
What’s gone wrong with NiP?
Despite hosting a selection of once sought-after and up-and-coming professional CS2 players, NiP hasn’t made a dent in any top-tier tournament since they went completely international in February 2023—barring one or two solid BLAST Premier performances.
The wishy-washy leadership in the roster has been one of the biggest issues. Not only has the roster had three IGL changes in the space of a year, but the chopping and changing Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin, and es3tag from active roster to the bench hasn’t made it any easier.
Who knows if these changes will help NiP return to its former early 2010s glory. However, their player choices and frequent benching over the last few years suggest it might not entirely be the players' fault.
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