Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz moves from Astralis to Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP).

NIP sign dev1ce to ‘rekindle the magic that NIP stands for’

The CS:GO superstar leaves behind a dynasty in Astralis

Zain Merchant

Published: Apr 23, 2021 09:57 am

Arguably one of the best Counter-Strike players of all time, Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz, has played with Astralis for the last few years. With him, the team have won three Counter-Strike Majors in a row. But now, Ninjas in Pyjamas have bought out the star AWPer to kickstart their new roster and help them climb to the top. Dev1ce signs for three years, which will give him plenty of time to help NIP achieve the level that past iterations of the roster have, such as the 87-0 undefeated map record streak.

NIP’s recent form

Recently, NIP has been struggling, apart from a few standout results. The team has star player Fredrik “REZ” Sterner, who has been named multiple times as a breakout player by top talent such as Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer. Still, with such inconsistent results from the team, REZ has had little opportunity to show his true skill. As a result, NIP started rebuilding earlier this year.

First, they benched longtime AWPer Simon “twist” Eliasson in favor of a player from their academy roster, Erik “ztr” Gustafsson. With ztr, the team performed a bit better and beat Vitality and Complexity in their most recent tournament matches. However, they still lacked a stable AWPer.

NIP sign dev1ce

So now, the organization has benched Tim “nawwk” Jonasson, replacing the player with dev1ce. NIP COO Jonas Gundersen spoke on the matter and said, “When you get the chance to bring on a player like dev1ce, it’s an opportunity you cannot pass on. Unfortunately, in this case, it means that we have to let go of nawwk, due to the roles clashing.” He went on to say that with the signing of dev1ce, the team is hoping to “rekindle the magic that NIP stands for.”

🕵 THE SECRET AGENT HAS ARRIVED 🕵 pic.twitter.com/AEL76tb4TG

— NIP CS (@NIPCS) April 23, 2021

According to dev1ce himself, “Leaving Astralis is tough” and “The boys will always be like family to me.” However, due to the ongoing pandemic and lockdown restrictions, dev1ce found himself situated in Sweden. He continued by saying, “I’m really hyped about this young and exciting NIP project. To join one of the most successful organizations, where so many legends have played, inspires me. Just see what LeBron James achieved with the Lakers, for instance, and with the Major in Stockholm coming up; to bring that home to Sweden is my number one goal.”