Photo: By Helena Kristiansson for ESL

The last time NiP was in a Major playoffs was three years ago at the MLG Columbus Major in 2016. After that event, the team hit a steady decline as they had to grapple with their own identity in a world that was leaving them behind. Over a year later, NiP realized the dire straits they were in. With no choice left, they started to cut players from their core roster to start rebuilding their team. That process has been a long and enduring one, but it has finally paid off. Three years later, NiP have made the journey back to the playoffs of a CS:GO Major.



The Fading of Magic



NiP is a legendary name. Their dynasty stretched from the beginning of CS:GO to the last quarter of 2013. They conquered the scene, became the de-facto best in the world, and set multiple records that stand to this day (the 87-0 being the notable among them). The lineup that made it happen was: Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson, Richard “Xizt” Landstrom, Adam “friberg” Friberg, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, and Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg.



They were the first to reach the heights of CS:GO competition and in many ways set the standard for what it means to be great, what it means to be the best in the world, and what it means to create an era. In the case of NiP, there was something inexplicable about them and their play. In the most dire of situations, NiP could inexplicably pull out a miracle individual play which saved the round and swung the game. These moments happened so many times that the esports historian, Duncan “Thorin” Shields, dubbed it NiP magic.



That characteristic was simultaneously the greatest thing about NiP and the one thing that held them back. To understand why, we need to look at the decline of NiP and the fading of magic. The first arc of it happened from the end of 2014 to the end of 2015. Fifflaren had retired at the end of 2014 and NiP brought on Mikail “Maikelele” Bill as their fifth. With Maikelele, NiP reached two finals: DreamHack Winter 2014 Major and MLG X Games Aspen. Soon afterward, they replaced him with Aleksi “allu” Jalli.



During this period, NiP were an aging beast. They were still titans, but were eclipsed by the rising of new gods. Teams like Fnatic, LDLC/EnVyUs, Virtus.Pro and TSM/Astralis all came vying for the throne. During this period, NiP battled them all. They got multiple top placings throughout this year, but were never able to clinch any big international victories during that period.



At that moment, it was easy for NiP to convince themselves that they were close to breaking as hey had reached multiple international finals and top fours. So when Allu left the team in December 2015, the NiP members just moved on to getting a new fifth rather than examine if anything within the main four had to change. NiP soon recruited Jacob “pyth” Mourujarvi and also got Bjorn “THREAT” Pers as coach.



At MLG Columbus, NiP couldn’t play with pyth and THREAT had to stand-in. Despite the handicap, NiP were able to make it to the playoffs of the Major. It was an auspicious for the Ninjas, but as it turned out, that was to be their last playoff berth in a Major. Soon after, NiP went to DreamHack Malmo where THREAT’s tactics and strategy reinvigorated the NiP team as they punished teams for not playing proper economic Counter-Strike and innovated multiple tactics to take the trophy.



While THREAT was a shot in the arm for NiP, he never solved the core issues. The NiP formula of GeT_RiGhT, f0rest, Xizt, Friberg plus one was no longer enough to become the best in the world. Teams and players had gotten better while they had stayed stagnant. All of this came to a head at ESL One Cologne 2016 Major. In the deciding match of the group stages, NiP played against Flipsid3. In that series, Andrey “B1ad3” Gorodenskiy put on a masterclass of tactical warfare as he abused and exploited all of NiP’s tendencies and took the series 2-1.



For any other team, that would have been the wake up moment. The loss could have forced them to examine and look at the core fundamental reasons as to why they lost. In the case of NiP, they were a victim to their own legacy and magic. Right after that Major loss, NiP won two big tournaments: StarLadder i-League Season 2 where they beat G2 and IEM Oakland. IEM Oakland was a fantastic performance by NiP that harkened back to the days of NiP glory and magic. In that tournament, NiP pulled out magic to defeat SK in the finals 2-1.



In a sense, these magical runs blinded NiP to the problems within their team. That IEM Oakland victory convinced them that they could still do it, that they could make a comeback with their core four players. In the midst of their celebration, they could have never foreseen the crash that was coming.



The 2017 Crash of NiP



If IEM Oakland was the magic moment, then 2017 was the price of that magic. By delaying the choice to make harsh roster changes, NiP were able to pull out some of the most memorable victories in 2016. In 2017, that magic had nearly run its course. NiP’s final event in 2016 was the Major Qualifier for ELeague Atlanta where Vega Squadron eliminated them from the tournament. The subsequent results in the first half of the year were lackluster as they failed to make top four at any event in the first half of the year. While they had once again replaced their fifth member (this time pyth for William “draken” Sundin), the change was no longer enough.



In previous iterations, a roster change had enacted a honeymoon phase that seemed to reinvigorate the NiP players. When draken came in, nothing special happened. In fact things got worse as teams like iGame, Red Reserve and Space Soldiers eliminated NiP from the PGL Krakow Open qualifiers. By mid 2017, NiP were forced to face the reality of the situation. They had to change to avoid extinction. On June 12th, 2017, Friberg was benched and NiP recruited young up-and-comer Fredrik “REZ” Sterner.



It was the correct move, but it wasn’t enough. While the team got a top four at DreamHack Masters Malmo 2017, they were nowhere close to the top level. NiP once again failed to make the Major, this time at ELeague Boston. They lost in the closed qualifer as they went 2-3 in the Swiss system. NiP made one last magical run at IEM Oakland 2017 where they beat SK in the semifinals and FaZe in a bo5 grand finals to take home the tournament. While it was an incredible feat, it was once again predicated on magic. NiP could never repeat that level of performance. They continued hanging onto that particular lineup for a few months longer, but it was clear that NiP needed to make another change.



The Rebuild



The first change they made was forced upon them as THREAT had resigned as coach on Feb. 1st so NiP hired Faruk “pita” Pita as their coach. Two weeks later, they made another change. On Feb. 13, 2018, NiP announced the removal of Xizt. He was to be the second player from the original NiP lineup to be kicked from the team. In his place, they got Dennis “dennis” Edman. Dennis had done well in Fnatic from 2016-2017. In the latter half, he joined GODSent which was a trainwreck. His year ended with a magnificent performance as he stood-in for Astralis at BLAST Copenhagen and showed the world that he was still an elite player.



Perhaps that performance resonated with the NiP players as they decided to pick him up to replace Xizt. What was most surprising about the move was that by removing Xizt, there was no in-game leader in NiP. While dennis could do it a little bit, it was a role he loathed. So common logic often dictated that Xizt was unkickable as there was no in-game leader that NiP could replace him with. The fact that NiP kicked him anyway showed the world that they still had the intent to compete. Xizt had clear limitations on his in-game leadership and by forcing him out, NiP could start walking down a new path.



The final move that NiP made was to trade draken for Jonas “lekr0” Olofsson to Fnatic. The deal went through on June 17th. The team on paper was filled with skilled players. NiP had done a good job in slowly rebuilding the team in terms of players, but the leadership question remained. At ESL One Cologne 2018, the issue hit critical mass as the team bombed out of the tournament losing to Cloud9 and ENCE. This was a critical moment for the team as it was clear that having dennis lead was no longer a viable solution. In the implosion, lekr0 decided to take up the role.



This role swap pulled NiP from the depths. Soon Lekr0 and pita created a workable system for the team that revolved around two ideas: defaults and executes. Lekr0 could either call for a default and make the mid-round call or he could call for the execute. The trigger for either was dependent on the individual form of the players and what was working in the game. It was a practical solution that elevated NiP to the next level.



That move brought NiP back to life. They finally passed through the open and closed qualifiers, won the EU Minor and then got top four at DreamHack Stockholm. At the FACEIT Major, they passed through the Challengers Stage 3-0 by beating Virtus.Pro, Rogue, and Astralis. In the Legends Stage, they faced a harsh draw. They played against Mouz, Liquid, Na`Vi, Vega, and MIBR in a bo3, and went 2-3 as a result. Though NiP failed to make it to the playoffs, the potential they had shown in that event was something that the team could build on.



Since then the team has oscillated between good and mediocre results. They got 3rd at BLAST Istanbul to then fall out of groups at EPICENTER 2018. They got to the finals of BLAST Copenhagen and top four at ECS Season 6 to then bomb out of BLAST Lisbon.



The Major Run



The IEM Katowice 2019 Major is the first tournament in the 2019 circuit. For NiP, the run to the Major playoffs has exemplified how they’ve rebuilt this team. In the Challengers stage, f0rest went nuclear as he carried the team through all of their matches. With his consistency and impact, NiP broke through and qualified for the Legends Stage by going 3-2.



In the Legends stage, it was the young guns that proved their worth. Lekr0 had a poor performance in the Challengers Stage, but was able to bounce back in the Legends Stage. REZ was good in both. Their performance at the Major thus far are the result of NiP’s decision to build for the future.



As for dennis, he was a player that has been receiving criticism since the new lineup has formed. His style of play has never seemed to click with the other players on the team. Dennis notes this small disynergy in his interview with HLTV where he talks about train,



“For myself, I’m not really confident on that map, but the team is, of course. I don’t know, it’s hard to say if it’s a good map or a bad map for us, Train is Train.”



Dennis goes on to further talk about his downward spiral at the Major, “…When we practice at home, when we practice here, I do really well, actually. I play very well. But as soon as I get on the server, I feel not confident at all and it feels like I’m playing a game which I don’t know how to play.”



So going into the final match of the Legends Stage, everything was on the line for NiP. At the FACEIT Major, NiP had drawn some of the hardest teams in the tournament, so it was easier to write that loss off. In this tournament, the team seedings and ELO system had done its job of creating a format that allowed for the best 8 to advance. If NiP wanted to prove they were good enough to be in the playoffs, there was no better system to prove it in.



In the final match, NiP faced off against Vitality and proved to be the superior team. Dennis broke open whatever mental barriers are holding him back and destroyed Vitaltiy on Mirage and Cache. NiP as a whole had coherent structure and teamplay. There was no magic to be had in the server, just fundamentally strong Counter-Strike.



It has been a long three years filled with ups and downs. The only remaining players from the original NiP are GeT_RiGhT and f0rest. Both players are trying to push the limits of how old a pro gamer can be in CS:GO and still compete at the highest levels. REZ has grown into his own as one of NiP’s most vital members as he enters his first ever Major playoffs. Lekr0 has grown from a pug player to a star and in-game leader of NiP. Dennis has shown that he can still be a world class player. From Columbus to Katowice, it has been a long three year journey. Through their hard work and struggles, NiP have rebuilt their franchise and shown a path where they are once again a threat on the world stage of Counter-Strike.

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