Hype
A legend comes home
A few weeks ago, we laid out our plans for the next iteration of the Ninjas in Pyjamas main CS roster in a letter to our fans. We said that we're seeing very interesting opportunities on the horizon as a result of the shakeup the scene is going through in the early CS2 era. One such opportunity presented itself right after we posted that letter.
To die-hard NIP fans, Richard “Xizt” Landström, needs no introduction. He won 87 maps in a row and led the team in-game for four years following that streak, you know the story. He’s old blood. Over the past three years, he has been coaching one of the most prominent teams of this era. The guy clearly knows what he's doing.
Today we're finally ready to announce that Richard is back where he belongs. Teaming up with his former mentor, Björn "THREAT" Pers, "Xizt" assumes the head coach role in the NIP CS leadership group.
"Richard and I go way back in time to the Lions days in 2010. I've watched him morph from a prodigy to a CS titan. Reuniting with “Xizt” feels like destiny, and I can't wait to dive back into the grind with him.”
— Björn Pers, NIP Counter-Strike Division General Manager
That's not all — the duo is actually a trifecta. Richard worked closely with our Director of Performance, Troels Robl, to implement his approach to training and performance management at Heroic, meaning he is already intimately familiar with how we do things at NIP. In short: he has hit the ground running and is already hard at work on the next steps in our plan.
“Over the last few years, it hurt to see NIP CS struggling, even when sitting on the rival side. It feels great to be back and working with Björn and Troels again. I'm ready to set the foundation for a new era and pour my heart into bringing us back."
— Richard “Xizt” Landström
Xizt, THREAT and Troels are a CS strategy dream team. We're going to let them cook. Stay tuned.
Soon the hunt will begin
