Official: es3tag joins NIP

Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen has found a new home just a few weeks after Complexity disbanded, reuniting with Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz under the Ninjas in Pyjamas banner.

Ninjas in Pyjamas have officially announced the signing of es3tag, confirming Tuesday's report of the move by Dexerto. The Dane joins the Swedish-majority squad on a transfer from Complexity and is replacing Linus "⁠LNZ⁠" Holtäng on the roster, while the 19-year-old youngster returns to Young Ninjas.

The new member has already joined up with the rest of the Ninjas in Pyjamas squad in preparation for the BLAST Premier Fall Final taking place in Copenhagen, which kicks off on November 24 with the opening round of the upper bracket, with Ninjas in Pyjamas will facing off against the new Astralis at 21:00 .

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be back at the absolute forefront of competitive CS:GO — to play with world-class proven individuals, with whom I can create a legacy," es3tag said in a statement. "With backing from an organization like NIP I'm confident that everything surrounding the squad is primed so we can reach the pinnacle of CS:GO. And yes I speak Swedish."

es3tag reunites with device in the Swedish organization after the duo played alongside one another in Astralis in the latter half of 2020 and most notably won ESL Pro League Season 12 Europe together, with the 25-year-old thriving in roles taken after Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth.

After struggling to replicate that level consistently on the two latest international projects he was a part of in Cloud9 and Complexity, es3tag will now take on a similar role in Ninjas in Pyjamas to the one he had in Astralis as he is set to fill LNZ's shoes, a position that the organization and coach Björn "⁠THREAT⁠" Pers expect to be a great match for the Dane.

"Patrick is a fantastic fit for the roster in its current iteration," the head coach has stated. "He's great at making the right read and taking initiative to exploit it — making one of our biggest strengths even bigger. On top of that, he brings that stability and versatility that's going to be key to taking us to the next level."

The move will see the Dane have to adapt to a Swedish-speaking roster. While that seems to be an ongoing process, es3tag and the rest of the team are putting in their best efforts to make it as smooth a transition as possible, NIP COO Jonas Gundersen has told HLTV.org:

"Jätte bra! [Editor's note: Very good!] Norwegian, Danish & Swedish is fairly similar, so he's catching on quick. We're giving him a Swedish tutor, and the guys help out a lot as well," Gundersen said when asked about how good es3tag's Swedish is. "It's always a bit weird in the beginning with the Frankenstein Scandinavian language we're rocking right now, but I am sure it's not going to be a problem at all."

The Ninjas in Pyjamas chief also commented on the organization's continued shift away from an all-Swedish roster with the addition of a second player from Denmark, saying that it has been a natural step to venture into a broader Scandinavian pool of players.

"NIP is a Swedish organisation and will always be. That's where we will bring the trophies home to, and that's the heritage and region we represent. Esports is evolving so fast, and I don't think it's realistic that we limit ourselves to being pure Swedish, if we are to stay competitive at all times, so bridging into a Scandinavian player pool is a natural move for us," Gundersen explained.

"Patrick is an incredible player, and a rare breed of team mate. He's smart, offers great solutions, has a very high skill ceiling and fits the role we need perfectly, so not going for him would have been a mistake in my eyes."

Ninjas in Pyjamas's main lineup now is:

Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner
Nicolas "⁠Plopski⁠" Gonzalez Zamora
Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser
Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz
Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen

Björn "⁠THREAT⁠" Pers (coach)

With LNZ returning to the academy team, following in the footsteps of Erik "⁠ztr⁠" Gustafsson who had also had a stint in the main team earlier this year before he was put back into the junior roster, Young Ninjas' roster will be the following from now on:

Erik "⁠ztr⁠" Gustafsson
Anton "⁠Sapec⁠" Palmgren
Love "⁠phzy⁠" Smidebrant
Kalle "⁠Ro1f⁠" Johansson
Linus "⁠LNZ⁠" Holtäng
Oliver "⁠debo⁠" Hallel

Fredrik "⁠slap⁠" Junbrant (coach)