Given that status both you as a player and NiP as a brand enjoy, how do you deal with the pressure that comes with it?

GeT_RiGhT: I don't think I deal with it because I'm not sure if I've ever felt it. I was one of the players who set the standard of how the game was supposed to be played, and NiP, as a result, became a historic team. So I don't think the pressure has ever gotten to me. If anything it's helped me.



I sat with Emil [HeatoN] in 2012, when he told me a few words I carry with me to this day: "NiP is a winning team," and that still rings true. Because I don't want to besmirch a name that is associated with greatness, and since I played under NiP in both 1.6 and CS:GO, the name has come to mean more to me than most people would imagine.



It's more like a family than a team for you, then?

GeT_RiGhT: I'd say it's more like my baby, actually. I really care about the brand, and if that one day means that I feel like I need a change... Like, if I'm not needed anymore as a player, then that's what it is. I'm open to the idea of maybe not competing anymore, but I honestly don't want to close that chapter just yet.

How long do you think you'll actually be playing?

GeT_RiGhT: I love playing. I don't think I'm ever going to stop playing Counter-Strike altogether, but of course, there's gonna come a time when I can no longer compete. To tell you the truth, I actually don't know how far away that day is because I've discussed this with my team several years in a row. I'm totally open to stepping down in case that's what's necessary, but they've always told me "no".



In recent times, though, I've been even more open towards the idea. I've asked NiP "if you feel like bringing on another new player instead of keeping me, that's fine." The well-being of the brand comes first, you know, so I don't want to stand in the way of its vision.



That's awfully considerate of you.

GeT_RiGhT: 2017 is my tenth year as a competitive gamer. I still can't really believe it, you know? Counter-Strike has just always been this interesting game, especially since it's been around for such a long time now. And my career has allowed me to travel and experience so many things that I'd be ok with stepping down at this point. But like I said earlier, I want to keep on fighting to stay on top. My fighting spirit hasn't gone anywhere, but I'm just a lot more open to the idea now than I was, like, even a year ago.



You seem to have a very mature view of the entire situation.

GeT_RiGhT: Perhaps, but at the same time, I feel as if I've always had this mentality. But yeah, like I said I don't think I'll be stepping down anytime soon. I want to keep on fighting until I can see that I'm obviously not keeping up.



A viewer asks "why is it so hard for the NiP core to split up?"

GeT_RiGhT: I guess we're just that close, in a way. Honestly, though, I don't think that's a fair question to ask any of us. Why would we have the answer, you know? I actually think we just love playing with each other so much that we just stick with it. Maybe we're just, perhaps a bit too, close to each other.



But I should say that I don't think that's necessarily anything bad. Because I think we've all thought that this is the team we finish our careers in. Again, though, I can't speak for any of the other guys. I'm trying to come up with a good answer, but honestly, that question doesn't really have any impact or meaning to me.

"I almost joined Cloud9"

GeT_RiGhT: I almost joined Cloud9. Everything was pretty much set up and I was going to play some trial games for them before we sealed the deal. But then, my flight ticket got canceled two hours before takeoff. Apparently, Cloud9 thought they were going to share a group with NiP at the Valve Major.



So that was the only thing that stopped you?

GeT_RiGhT: Yeah, I was completely ready for the transition, but I guess they didn't want me to know any of the strategies they'd have lined up for the Valve Major. I'd already told my teammates, as well as the organization, and they were fine with me not being around and missing events.



After all that, I began realizing that I actually felt really good about where I was. But I think that if I would've gotten on that plane, I probably would've switched teams in the end. It was really just a weird set of circumstances that kept me in NiP, you know?

Last week, Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund, one of the true superstars of competitive Counter-Strike, gave a series of very honest answers to questions submitted by the audience during an episode of FragbiteLIVE. The questions were curious of what the future of GeT_RiGhT, or that of Ninjas in Pyjamas, looks like in the face of the team's recent struggles.Later on, during the Q&A, GeT_RiGhT goes into great detail about the one time he actually almost made good on his thought of leaving NiP. But while Alesund seemed ready to take the biggest risk of his career, a series of strange events lead to the NiP superstar remaining in Sweden.The episode of Fragbite Live was broadcasted in Swedish. A subtitled version is available at the top.