The team will be looking for a new AWPer for the 2023 season.
It was announced on social media that Ninjas in Pyjamas would be moving AWP man Patrick “es3tag” Hansen to the bench after an end-of-year evaluation of the team composition. This is on the back of the recent move by Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz, who returned to Astralis.
es3tag was chosen by NiP after making a name for himself with Heroic from 2017 until 2020. He struggled to find his footing consistently during short stints with Astralis, Cloud9, and compLexity Gaming. In 2022, he and NiP saw a few strong finishes at major events but did not come close to the competitive level that NiP was once known for.
While NiP managed to qualify for the Legends stage for IEM Rio Major with Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen at the helm, the team saw a dismal 0-3 showing at the Legends stage.
He is now free “explore new opportunities ahead of the 2023 season” while still being tied to NiP for now. He also shared that he “will be taking my time to properly gauge what's next for me.”
