Three out of five players from the NIP roster were moved to the bench today, NIP announced in a press statement.

Alongside the benching of Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke, Patrick "es3tag" Hansen, and Daniil "headtr1ck" Valitov, NIP has also chosen to shake up the coaching staff parting ways with coach Daniel "djL" Narancic and analyst Thomas "haste" Dyrensborg,

To fill the void left by these departures, NIP has promoted Max "maxster" Jansson, Leo "Silence" Ingvarsson, and Maoz "BluePho3nix" Paz from the Young Ninjas project. Additionally, Björn “THREAT” Pers joins as coach on a temporary basis.

In a letter to the fans, NIP looks ahead to a future, where the organization is “well-positioned to capitalize” on the opportunities to come.

- We expect the next few months to present many interesting opportunities and we are well-positioned to capitalize: we have a strong financial position, top-tier infrastructure and a ton more data on what makes a good CS2 player. Most importantly, though, we have an established philosophy of practicing and managing all the things that constitute vibes, and a player mindset that fits that philosophy. A few months from now, a new squad of Ninjas will rise from the ashes, and the whole team is working with a clarity of purpose that infuses us with hope for the future. Whether it all works out, we cannot predict — but we expect our fans to keep holding us to account. That is the purpose of this letter: for you all to be able to follow along as we try our damndest to make it back to the top, where we belong.

You can read the full statement [link:{"url":"https://nip.gl/pages/a-letter-from-nip-management","isNewTab":true,"text":"here"}].

k0nfig

headtr1ck

es3tag

Ninjas in Pyjamas

Ninjas in Pyjamas has announced that Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke will be joining the team as a replacement for Hampus “hampus” Poser, who has decided to take a break from competition for the beginning of the 2023 season. The news of k0nfig’s signing comes shortly after hampus unexpectedly left Ninjas in Pyjamas’ campaign at the BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 due to “unforeseen personal circumstances.”

k0nfig, who parted ways with Astralis in October, had previously filled in for Heroic at the BLAST Premier World Final. He was also meant to join FaZe as a replacement for Håvard “rain” Nygaard at the BLAST Premier Spring Groups, however, the tournament organizers controversially rejected the replacement due to k0nfig being registered as part of Heroic’s official roster for the event.

With k0nfig’s addition to the team, Ninjas in Pyjamas aims to strengthen their roster and make a strong comeback in the competitive scene. Although k0nfig will not be able to play in Copenhagen where the team needs two victories to qualify for the Spring Final event, he will make his debut for the Swedish organization at IEM Katowice, where NiP will begin in the Play-in stage with an opening match against MIBR.  

FaZe’s preparation and outset for BLAST Premier Spring Groups has been nowhere ideal for Finn “karrigan” Andersen and company.

Instead of focusing on aspects such as their map pool, their opponents, and other important stuff, FaZe have found themselves in a sticky situation with BLAST regarding the replacement of Håvard “rain” Nygaard. Here they hoped and expected to use the free agent Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke - but that was declined Thursday morning despite having trained and prepared with the Dane for days. 

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Before BLAST issued its statement, we spoke to Liquid’s Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski to get his take on the entire situation.

- From my understanding, I feel like FaZe got some kind of approval from BLAST that it was supposed to be allowed. But then when FaZe got here then someone realized that they messed up and it wasn’t allowed. I mean that there were mistakes from both sides, where FaZe should have known that they submitted their roster that didn’t have k0nfig on it, EliGE said and continued.

- FaZe then had to scramble to find a solution, so I think it just really sucks on both ends. Whoever made the mistake and said it was okay to use k0nfig in the first place probably made the biggest error, and you know unfortunately FaZe is getting kind of screwed by it.

You can watch the entire interview with EliGE in the video down below (chapters included).

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EliGE

karrigan

FaZe

Team Liquid

In a statement released on Twitter, tournament organizers from BLAST admitted to a “lack of clarity” in the recent “k0nfig-gate” incident. The statement began by acknowledging all the confusion that has transpired around the roster lock for the kick-off of the 2023 season.

According to the statement, FaZe Clan had submitted a roster change for this week’s Spring Groups due to rain missing out on the event and had requested the use of k0nfig, which was denied as the player was registered on another team’s roster for the event. In the process, there was confusion around whether the subsequent emergency substitution request was formally accepted and validated by BLAST in time for the event.

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After reviewing the incident internally, BLAST identified miscommunication and a lack in clarity from their side on the roster lock timings and k0nfig's eligibility to play in BLAST Premier Spring Groups. The tournament organizers stated that this is not how they typically operate and they will be looking into strengthening processes and communication with teams, specifically around roster locks.

BLAST ended up working closely with FaZe and found a solution by letting es3tag compete with the team. In addition, it was also stated that should FaZe Clan face NiP later in Spring Groups, es3tag will be unavailable to play in that match, a circumstance that both teams are aware of and have accepted.

On Thursday, FaZe Clan’s request to use Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke as a stand-in for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 event got denied by the tournament organizers. The Danish rifler was already registered as a substitute on Heroic’s roster for the event, which made him unavailable for FaZe.

As a result, the tournament organizers allowed FaZe to register a different player who was not listed on another team’s roster as a substitute. Within hours after receiving the bad news, the team announced that Patrick “es3tag” Hansen, who currently is sitting on the bench in Ninjas in Pyjamas, will be stepping in as a stand-in for the event.

However, tournament organizers from BLAST have stated that es3tag will not be permitted to play against Ninjas in Pyjamas, should FaZe and NiP face off against each other in the event. The two teams are placed in separate groups but they could potentially meet in the elimination bracket, should neither team top their group.

FaZe Clan’s first matchup at the event starts today at 12:00 (CET) with a match against the North American squad from Complexity. You can watch the match live on Pley.gg

Bet on BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 right here:

FaZe Clan’s request to use Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke as a stand-in for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 event has been denied by the tournament organizers, according to a report by Dexerto. This decision comes after their 28-year-old Norwegian rifler decided to skip the tournament in anticipation of the birth of his child.

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BLAST denied the request to use k0nfig due to the fact that he was registered on another team’s roster for the event. FaZe has been allowed to register a different player who is not listed on another team’s roster as a substitute.

"The request for an emergency substitution has been accepted as they only have four players currently available in Denmark. An update on the substitute will be made as soon as we have it." - BLAST told Pley.gg 

Twistzz also confirmed the news on Twitter, where he also mentioned that the change had been allowed by BLAST “for some time” but that “suddenly overnight everything changed.”

FaZe Clan are now pressured on time as they quickly have to find a replacement for the first match in Group B against Complexity on Friday at 12:00 (CET).

Twistzz

This Wednesday FaZe Clan announced that their 28-year-old Norwegian rifler, Håvard “rain” Nygaard, will not be participating in the BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 as he’s expecting the birth of his child.

In light of rain’s absence, FaZe Clan are looking to utilize Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke as a stand-in for the Norwegian. However, their decision to use k0nfig as a substitute at the BLAST event meets resistance, [link:{"url":"https://www.dust2.us/news/33254/report-faze-trying-to-use-k0nfig-as-sub-at-blast-spring","isNewTab":true,"text":"report from Dust2.us"}] says. According to the recent report, FaZe’s intention to use the Danish rifler as a substitute has been met with resistance from other teams and the tournament organizers of BLAST, who currently are discussing the ongoing situation on whether to allow him as a substitute or not, considering that he’s officially registered with Heroic.

While the discussions are ongoing within BLAST on whether to allow FaZe’s move to use k0nfig as a stand-in, CS:GO fans from all around the world are eagerly awaiting the final decision, as the tournament is set to feature some of the best CS:GO teams in the world.

rain

Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke {cflag:DK}

The Danish rifler has been consistently synonymous with controversy over recent months, yet the prevailing opinion still remains that he deserves further shots at the big time, and I couldn't agree more.  I doubt that a top 20 team will pick him up before the roster-locks of the new season continue to slam doors shut but if a team like NiP perhaps don't make as many waves as their plans for the year would hope for, he would be an outstanding pickup. Who knows he could even be in line for a sensational return to Astralis if their fortunes don't improve. If I’m a team like OG or ENCE, I am immediately enquiring about the possibility of signing the Danish superstar at earliest convenience.

The Ukrainian rifler didn’t have the easiest time during his stint with Na’Vi, never fully being given any job security, but he deserves to be mentioned here, having by no means hampered their pursuit of greatness and even securing the trophy at BLAST Premier Spring Finals. Now, do I think that he is entirely suitable for a team containing the greatest of all time? No, but he is clearly a serviceable support player and any top 20 team would surely be enriched by his addition. Due to the ongoing political situation, there sadly aren’t many options for the Ukrainian to pursue within his region, so a team like OG could be a solid shout moving forward.

Mateusz ‘mantuu’ Wilczewski {cflag:PL}

The Polish AWPer has been inactive for a while but absolutely deserves another shot at the big time. While a little inconsistent, it’s hard to see how he hasn’t found another team since being benched by OG back in July. Once again the names of ENCE and NiP reappear as potential candidates for his signature if their year gets off to a less than ideal start, or perhaps a hop across the pond to save NA with the ailing Evil Geniuses.

The Danish hybrid hasn’t made the best of life choices since abandoning Heroic while his ex-teammates now sit atop the HLTV rankings as the best in the world. With underwhelming forays into North America under his belt with Cloud9 and Complexity, the ‘brightest star in the Danish night sky’ has since been benched again by NiP. Role turmoil and a change in IGL did nothing to help the Dane but yet another relative failure has left him with very little option moving forward but a team like Sprout might benefit from his experience.

mantuu

We look back at the last big event of the year, where some of CS:GO biggest stars went head to head for the $500.000 in first prize.

In the Grand Final, it was G2 who lifted the trophy. The star-studded roster also had four of five players in the top 8 best-performing players at the tournament. You can see the top 10 list here.

Highest-rated players at BLAST World Finals 2022:

m0NESY

degster

ropz

NiKo

ZywOo

huNter

Heroic is out of BLAST World Finals after two straight defeats in the group stage of the event.

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After their match against NAVI we spoke with the captain of Heroic, Casper "cadiaN" Møller about the performance of Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke and the year in general for Heroic. 

cadiaN

Team Vitality

After his first official CS:GO match since his injury and release from Astralis in September-October (not taking his map for Endpoint in mind), we got the chance to speak with Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke at BLAST Premier World Final.

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In the interview, k0nfig talks about standing in for Heroic in Abu Dhabi but also his thoughts about next year and the possibility of rejoining Astralis. You can find the interview with the powerful rifler down below.

Astralis

Heroic

In today's third match from BLAST World Finals OG will take on Heroic. The Danes are without their star player Martin "stavn" Lund in the tournament. In his place, the former Complexity and Astralis player Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke will try and make a good case for himself for any potential future teams with a good performance in Abu Dhabi for Heroic.

You can bet on the match via our betting partners below.

We spoke with Casper "cadian" Møller about Heroic and their rise of form lately. In the interview, the in-game leader also talks about the pick of Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke as the stand-in player for Heroic at BLAST World Finals in Abu Dhabi.

It was actually my idea to bring him in. I was looking at the different players that we could get and what they would bring for the in-game chances and the outside dynamics. ... k0nfig has been great throughout the practices, so I am excited to see him in the official matches. Taking k0nfig is a little bit of a risk, but he has some x-factor, and I rather have him shooting ten in one game and then shooting 30 in the next game than someone who shoots 15 in two games. I know that if he is feeling it, he will perform really well.

Watch the full interview with Casper "cadian" Møller right here:

Heroic will face OG in their first game at the BLAST Premier World Finals 2022.

Watch the game live at 13:00 (CET) on the following twitch channel:

stavn

On Sunday, Heroic announced that they will be fielding Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke at BLAST World Final as a substitute for Martin “stavn” Lund, who will get extra time off in this winter break to rest. That also means he won’t be traveling with the rest of the squad to Abu Dhabi, UAE, for the highly-anticipated BLAST Premier World Final event.

At the World Finals, k0nfig will be making his LAN return for the first time since his contract with Astralis was terminated in October following a controversial incident in Malta during ESL Pro League, where the 25-year-old Dane was involved in a fistfight. This will be a great opportunity for k0nfig who will have a chance to prove himself on the biggest stage of Counter-Strike.

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Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke (stand-in)

Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke will play his first official CS:GO match in two months this Wednesday. The hard-hitting rifler is set to offer a helping hand to Endpoint for a single match at European Development Season 6, because of the absence of Guy “Nertz” Iluz, who allegedly is set to attend a wedding. 

Today's news comes one month after k0nfig's removal from Astralis following a controversial incident in Malta during ESL Pro League, where k0nfig were involved in a fistfight which ended up breaking his ankle. Later on, another scandal surrounding the Danish rifler hit the news, stating that he was a part of another incident at IEM Cologne this year. 

Endpoint, with k0nfig on the teamsheet, will play Illuminar at 16:00 (CET) in the Round of 16 at European Development Season 6. You can watch the match [link:{"url":"https://www.twitch.tv/edenesports","isNewTab":true,"text":"here"}]. 

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Endpoint

Earlier this month it was [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/news/k0nfig-astralis-part-ways-due-personal-circumstances","isNewTab":true,"text":"announced "}]that Astralis and Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke had agreed to terminate the Danish rifler’s contract due to personal circumstances, which reportedly were caused due to a fist-fight in Malta during ESL Pro League.

In a comprehensive Twitlonger, the 25-year-old Dane confirmed the rumors about the violent fight and provided his side of the story. You can read the full post right here:

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During this tough period for the Dane, k0nfig hasn’t tried to hide away from the public regarding his situation, matter of fact, he’s been open and honest, and even made multiple statements about how he’s working to become a better person who works hard towards a comeback to the pro scene.

“I have forgiven myself in the hardest period of my life. Chosen a different path. One way forward. I’ll be back.” – k0nfig via Twitter.

Earlier today, an article came out stating that Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke “caused trouble and showed aggressive behaviour” at IEM Cologne – two months prior to the much-debated “fist-fight” incident in Malta.

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Now k0nfig himself has confirmed the incident(s) at IEM Cologne in a Tweet, where he also explains he will quit drinking and start seeing a psychologist.

- I have quit drinking and I'm talking to a psychologist weekly to get back on track and actually be who I really am. I'm sincerely sorry for my actions and I feel so disgusted by my own actions. It feels like I'm just going deeper and deeper. I'm going to turn this around now, k0nfig wrote on Twitter. 

In another Twitter post, k0nfig confirmed some of Jaxon's story about him, however, he doesn't admit to threatening anyone or being aggressive to any hotel staff nor ESL staff. 

- I can confirm that it did happen and it escalated into something that it shouldn't have. We talked it out and solved it. I did not threaten anyone and I wasnt aggresive to any hotel staff nor ESL staff. I don't know what to say to be honest. I'm working on myself. I'm so sorry.

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The saga surrounding Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke seems to have got another chapter to the already astounding story.

Today Jaxon has published an [link:{"url":"https://www.jaxon.gg/k0nfig-aggressive-with-staff-at-iem-cologne-police-involved/","isNewTab":true,"text":"article "}]stating that the “fist-fight incident" in Malta wasn’t the first time k0nfig got in trouble at a CS:GO event. The media outlet state had sources telling them that an ESL broadcast talent was “forced to defend himself” against k0nfig at IEM Cologne in July this year, and that police and hotel staff was involved. The broadcast talent wishes to remain anonymous, the article states. 

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Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke and his alleged [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/news/k0nfig-heading-astralis-was-reportedly-involved-fist-fight-malta","isNewTab":true,"text":"fist fight in Malta"}] have been the talk of the town in CS:GO for weeks now. The story escalated this week when Astralis on Monday announced the departure of the powerful rifler owing to “personal circumstances”.

However, CS:GO expert and analyst, Alex "Mauisnake" Ellenberg doesn’t buy Astralis’ decision and grounding, as he sows doubts about their intentions with the k0nfig removal being “a little too convenient”, referring to the heavy rumours of Nicolai “device” Reedtz returning back to the Danish squad.

It was in the latest episode of [link:{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbNKMqSkhkE&t","isNewTab":true,"text":"Snake & Banter"}] with Duncan “Thorin” Shields, where Mauisnake touched upon the matter.

- The first thing I took away from this whole [k0nfig] instantly removal, was that it seems like Astralis want to clear the books for a device move. For them to hold k0nfig to this standard now where – without saying any names or anything like that – people, talents, and players have gone into stuff like that. Maybe not to the extent where they broke their legs. There have been police called on different people this year, but it just doesn’t get out. None of those people is out of their job, Mauisnake said and continued:

- Certainly, Astralis are: “Yep, that’s where we draw the line, and btw we’re going to get device”. That seems like the inevitability of what just happened here.

- (...) It just feels a little too convenient for me from the side of Astralis that they are just ready to go and remove somebody and probably a guy that had a pretty decent salary so that this device one isn’t so much of a blow to them.

You can watch the entire episode of Snake & Banter down below (timestamps included)

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/Mauisnake_uhntey","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL"}]

Mauisnake (left) on the desk at PGL Major Antwerp earlier this year

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device

Yesterday Astralis stunned the CS:GO world by announcing the release of their star rifler Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke due to “personal circumstances”, where k0nfig himself later on confirmed that he was involved in a violent interaction in Malta during ESL Pro League Season 16.

In the k0nfig statement, Astralis also confirmed that they will keep their academy player Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen as a stand-in for the upcoming BLAST Premier Fall Showdown starting next week. Here they will battle strong teams like BIG, Heroic, and Vitality for a spot at BLAST Premier Fall Final which is set to take place in massive Royal Arena located in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

That means the Danes are set to feature the same roster as they did in last week’s Major qualifier, where k0nfig was sidelined due to an ankle injury caused by the above-mentioned events in Malta. At the RMR, Astralis failed to qualify after losses to NIP, Bad News Eagles and forZe.

With Astralis not making it to the Major in Rio de Janeiro later this month, BLAST Premier Fall Final should be one of their main goals to qualify for as it will grant them the possibility to play in front of a packed Royal Arena on home soil. BLAST Showdown will kick off next Wednesday (19th October), where Astralis will start their campaign against Eternal Fire. 

Astralis will field the following roster for BLAST Showdown:

{cflag:DK} Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander

{cflag:DK} Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth

{cflag:DK} Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer

{cflag:DK} Mikkel "⁠MistR⁠" Thomsen (stand-in)

{cflag:DK} Martin "⁠trace⁠" Heldt (coach)

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	30 days	90 days
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k0nfig

Player stats

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EliGE on FaZe’s stand-in issues: Unfortunately FaZe is getting screwed by it

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What now FaZe? k0nfig rejected as stand-in by BLAST

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k0nfig feels “disgusted” about his actions: I have quit drinking

Media: Broadcast talent “forced to defend himself” against k0nfig at IEM Cologne

CS:GO expert questions Astralis’ removal of k0nfig: It just feels a little too convenient for me

Confirmed: Astralis to feature young stand-in for BLAST Showdown

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