No pressure for NIP in EPL Season 19, according to alex.
Since November at Ninjas in Pajamas, Alejandro "alex" Masanet has been one of the faces of the renewal of the NIP CS2 roster division. For ESL Pro League Season 19, only the Spaniard remains from the team that went 0-3 in the RMR of the last Major. Since then, the organization has carried out a revolution in the team.
Fredrik "REZ" Sterner will miss the Pro League due to a "literal virus". Taking the Swede's place will be the newly signed to the academy team, Kacpter "xKacpersky" Gabara. Maoz "BluePho3nix" Paz from the academy will also fill out for the team while the organization looks for a fifth player. Max "maxster" Jansson and Artem "r1nkle" Moroz are NIP's new signings.
alex and NIP with youngsters
Regarding the NIP changes for this ESL Pro League Season 19, Alex is confident in the process:
"I mean, I think we don't have the full lineup yet. So, of course, we're playing with some stand-ins here, but I can say like Max and r1nkle are with us 100% As I said before they are trying to do the best we are trained like to look at the market and see what we can get. But yeah, I mean, I feel like we trust the process and we still just like we don't have the fight player yet. So when need to wait."
Regarding the new players, alex is cautious and hopes that the players gain experience in the competition. The Polish player, xKacpersky, was Benjamim "blameF" Bremer's Bold Prediction in HLTV's Best of 2023.
"Individual wise I think he's (xKacpersky) pretty good, to be honest. But as I said before like they (BluePho3nix and xKacpersky) need some experience and I think they're going to get the experience. They're going to get this experience here in the tournament. And I hope that he's going to play, he's going to enjoy, he's going to feel the pressure, because we don't have any pressure here, for sure".
Big changes in the team
There have been many changes and the search for a fifth NIP CS2 player continues. Patrick "es3tag" Hansen, Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke, and Danyyl "headtr1ck" Valitov were moved to the bench shortly after the RMR. The Spanish IGL says it has no decision-making power over team changes.
"Ah, it's hard for me. I didn't have anything to do with that. I can say that my club is doing everything they can to build up a really good roster around. They are trying to do their best and to be back on the top I would say."
We asked Alex if all these moves harmed the captain in carrying out his duties as in-game leader. The Spaniard doesn't deny it.
"A little bit I would stay. It's sometimes hard to deal with some problems. But it is what it is. I'm a lucky boy because I have incredible players by my side right now, and we know what we have to do. So. I mean, it's pretty different right I couldn't do my job. But I'm just looking forward to starting the new journey."
Xizt on board
The revolution in the CS2 roster also said goodbye to Daniel "djL" Narancic. NIP brought in a familiar organization face to be the new coach - Richard "Xizt" Landström. The Spanish captain likes the idea of working with the Swede.
"We didn't have enough time yet to start working because we didn't have the full lineup, However, he's bringing us some good vibes. He has a pretty good idea of how he wants to play and it's kind of the same as me. So we are going to be on the same page easily when we start working with the lineup and also he was coaching for Heroic. He should do for the team."
For ESL Pro League Season 19, Alex says that NIP has no pressure due to the situation it finds itself in. The Spanish captain also says that the team will compete and try to win games.
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