First, he was in. Then he was out. Now he is back again. All within two years. Patrick “es3tag” Hansen was announced today as the replacement for Hampus “hampus” Poser, who was kicked from the team today. The former Astralis, Cloud9, Complexity, and Heroic player rejoins the roster after having been benched for the entirety of 2023.
We are pleased to welcome a familiar face back to the dojo. Welcome back, @es3tag
We have decided to move @hampuscsgo to the bench. We would like to thank him for his efforts on the team and wish him all the best. #GONINJAS pic.twitter.com/TipUfZXHho
— NIP CS (@NIPCS) October 24, 2023
On Twitter, the General Manager of Ninjas in Pyjamas, Björn “THREAT” Pers elaborated on the roster move.
– Hampus has been an integral part of NIP since he joined in 2020, and we have gone through both good and bad times. Now, NIP needs a change of direction, and hard decisions have to be made. After a lot of evaluation, we came to the conclusion that our first step would require Hampus moving to the bench. I am certain that he will bring value wherever he goes and will be a formidable opponent in the future! It is also with excitement that I can announce that es3tag has been brought back to the main roster! Patrick is a very unique player being able to always provide what the team needs, even bringing the AWP back in 2022. No matter the task he always brings a huge amount of contagious positive energy that we in NIP will make sure to harness as we enter the CS2 era.
Björn “THREAT” Pers himself was hired as the new GM for NIP a month ago, and he already stated that changes were imminent to the team. THREAT has previously been the head coach for NIP and also worked as a Counter-Strike Technical Director for the team.
According to Swedish GM, there will be more changes announced soon. Until then Patrick “es3tag” Hansen will take over the role of in-game leader.
@es3tag being the flexible player he his, will act as a temporary IGL until we can announce our next step in the upcoming weeks! pic.twitter.com/xqOzNlDcrZ
— Björn Pers (@THREAT_CS) October 24, 2023
It is the second time that Hampus “hampus” Poser has been benched on NIP. The first time was at the start of the year when the 24-year-old Swede had to take a break from competitive competition due to medical conditions.
