Aleksib: "Hopefully we aren't gonna have any changes for a while"

In our latest interview from Copenhagen, Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen talks about leading the Ninjas in Pyjamas roster after a turbulent 2022.

Aleksib joined G2 at the start of 2022, but shaky results led to him being removed during the first player break of the year. He didn't spend long on the bench, as Ninjas in Pyjamas soon swooped in to sign the Finnish IGL ahead of the second part of the season.

After four months in the Swedish organization, Aleksib is tasked with molding Daniil "⁠headtr1ck⁠" Valitov, another young AWPer from the CIS region. Before Ninjas in Pyjamas make their debut with their new signing, HLTV sat down with the Finn to talk about the role changes within the team and their expectations for 2023.

You have been in NIP for 4 months now. How has it been for you personally?

It's been really nice, it's been a while since I've been on a project that has been strictly Nordic. With headtr1ck a few dynamics will change of course, but the whole staff and everyone else is mainly Swedish or at least Scandinavian. This means the way they do work and the things that are clear without saying are much more Finnish-like. In the past I've been a member of some European organizations, so this feels much closer to home.

Do you think that mindset affected your short stint in G2?

I wouldn't say so, I'm just saying that it is comfortable for me to have this change, because I've been working in this European style for a while. So I wouldn't say it's been a bad thing, I'm just saying it is a good change to have to do something new and something that is a bit more comfortable.

You come into BLAST Groups with a new player, headtr1ck. How has he been in practice so far?

We couldn't practice with him before he was signed, so I and the coaching staff watched some demos from him, and we felt that with the way he plays, he will find impact. He is flashy at times but still inexperienced. He has for sure surprised me because when you find these up-and-coming talents you never know what to expect before you play with them, but he is playing really well.

He has done some amazing clutches in practice, we are having some laughs watching him pull off some of the moves. Basically, it is what you would expect from a guy who has this potential and has been playing really well in the academy leagues. He still has a long way to go, it is his first tier-one tournament in an actual team and not being a substitute.

Has your experience with m0NESY influenced you to give headtr1ck a chance?

For sure, and I also worked with sergej before who was really young. headtr1ck was actually 18 years old before he joined, so at least in Europe that makes him an adult and he is not that young in a way, just inexperienced. It certainly helps that I have worked with people who were inexperienced or younger in the past, but I feel that it comes down to if they are ready to improve, if they are willing to listen to people and fit in the system. I feel like whenever I played with a player like that, it always went well. The only obstacle they have is themselves, and I'm there to help them get through it.

This also means REZ will be moving away from being a primary AWP after a short stint in the role. What made you choose a primary AWPer as the fifth player, and not leave REZ in the role and get a rifler?

The team was toying with the idea of letting REZ take the role even before I joined, it's been a difficult season for them last year with what kept happening with device. We tried it out, but we obviously understood and REZ himself understood the value of having a rifler like him and given there is a lot of AWP quality on the market, like headtr1ck. So just thinking about having a core of rifles that are experienced and fit their spots well, it just made sense to do it.

REZ always wants the best for a team, and if he wanted to continue AWPing I would be on board with it to try and make it work. In the end, it was his decision after we spoke about it, and this is the move we went with. Considering the potential of our new AWPer, I think it's the right one.

With es3tag gone, who was a supportive piece, will someone have to take on more of a support role?

I've always felt I've been kind of a supportive player, despite doing the same things I've done in the past. In a way, you could argue that some of the supportive aspects will be something we need to improve in every individual. Everyone, if they want to fit in our system, they need to help each other and do the bare minimum. I feel like we have a few players that are coming up with new stuff, and they are capable of filling the supportive void if we feel we have one. We need to get one tournament in and see how it feels to play because practice and officials are like night and day.

You have been put in a stacked group, first meeting NAVI, with G2 and BIG also in the mix. Do you feel like you have what it takes to make it through?

No matter what group we would have been placed in, it would have been tough either way. I feel like it's gonna be nice to get this straight away, to play against really good opponents. If we manage to grab a win it's gonna be huge for us, if we lose we will learn a lot because these teams punish your every mistake. I feel like no matter what, this will be helpful for us, especially going into Katowice and Pro League. I'm happy we got really tough opponents, it's gonna show us where we are at and enable us to learn a lot.

If results go a certain way, you will also have your first meeting with G2 since you departed the team. What will that feel like for you?

It's gonna feel weird, it's different than every time I played a former team before. My journey there was so quick, that it's quite different in that regard as I didn't build what I did at OG or ENCE. I really like the players as people, we always have a good time when we see each other so it's gonna be nice to meet them, but tough for sure.

Looking on more of a broader scale, what are NIP's expectations for the first half of the year?

We have a team that on paper can do a lot of damage and I feel like it's gonna be really good if we can get things rolling. Hopefully, we aren't gonna have any changes for a while, our goal is to stick together and make sure everyone is putting one hundred percent in. The first two months of the season are going to be hectic, so we want to learn as much as we can from the first few tournaments and make sure we can implement some of the fixes that we are going to go through on short notice.

There is a chance that we get completely shut down, and I don't want us to fall into a slump or a hole we need to dig ourselves out of. I just want us to feel the game and know what we're capable of, so we can aim to tackle a deep run in a tournament in a couple of months.