“We made a mistake in the plan of how we started the season. I felt like I had no power when I came back. You always had to compromise with the coach or the performance coach and so on.”

That’s what hampus told the newly minted Dust2.se just weeks after NIP benched him.

But don’t worry — there’s a new structure in place. THREAT is in as GM, and priority No. 1 is to get a roster where the roles actually make sense.

The last one, of course, had four riflers that wanted to play A on Overpass (and an AWPer who would also rather be rifling A on Overpass). So yeah, five players that want to play in Toilets. Good plan!

But they’ve backed that um… ambitious project in. And, to go forward, sometime you have to take a step back.

NIP have recalled es3tag from the bench as a ready-made supportive element in place of Brollan. Not exciting, but maybe necessary — and definitely cost-effective.

In place of hampus, they’ve gone south to Spain and picked up alex from Movistar Riders.

The roles now fit: REZ and k0nfig as the star riflers, and alex and es3tag as supports.

Because of that, the question has shifted: Were REZ and k0nfig performing badly because of roles, in-game leaders, or simply because of the passage of time?

If they can be star riflers in 2023, they now have the environment to prove it.

If they can’t, NIP may keep their revolving door reputation for a while yet.

NIP’s new roster:

🇪🇸 alex
🇸🇪 REZ
🇺🇦 headtr1ck
🇩🇰 k0nfig
🇩🇰 es3tag