dev1ce: I think I’ve taken a bit of a leadership role that I didn’t have on Astralis
We have spoken with the NIP star about his first period with the team and how he’s adapted into a new role after leaving Astralis.
When NIP shocked the CS:GO world back in April this year with the announcement of the signing of Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz from Astralis, the Swedes received not only an incredibly strong weapon to the server, they also received one of the most accoladed and experienced player in the history of the game.
The powerful AWPer is no stranger to the big stage at any means, where the 26-year-old Dane has a trophy cabinet that will leave nearly every organization envious. At a press conference held by ESL, Pley.gg spoke with dev1ce about his first period with NIP and how he's fitting in on the roster.
- It’s been pretty great if I’m being honest. In the beginning, it was a bit challenging with the speed of communication and stuff like that, and that was something I had to learn. For now, I’m still trying to find out how much I should focus on my individual play.
I think that finding that rhythm when you are playing in a team, where you might not be as experienced as I’m used to and trying to elevate my teammates while being good myself, is the biggest challenge for me, dev1ce said.
We want to be a danger at the Major - dev1ce at the ESL press conference
With no more than 18 MVP awards, four Major titles and five Top 3 placements on HLTV’s annual ‘Player of the Year’ list, it's fair to say that dev1ce is one of the greats within Counter-Strike history. Being a part of the iconic Astralis squad has gifted him lots of experience and knowledge of the game, which is something he will try to pass on to his new teammates on NIP.
- When we aren't firing or shooting well, I try to keep people refocused and have a bit of a leadership role, that I didn’t have on Astralis. I think it comes from the experience and the respect of what we achieved in Astralis together. For me, it’s just like figuring out how to use this role in the right way, and to create the best atmosphere.
It’s still a work in process and something we are working on with our performance team and Björn (head coach), dev1ce explains.
You can see the full interview with dev1ce in this video.
dev1ce and the rest of NIP are at the moment competing at ESL Pro League Season 14, where they yesterday managed to qualify for the Quarter-Finals after beating mousesports 2-1. The Swedish-Danish mixed squad will play again tomorrow at 16:00 (CET), in the matchup vs OG and dev1ce's countrymen Valdemar "valde" Vangså and Nikolaj "niko" Kristensen.
