Ninjas in Pyjamas have announced a pretty massive roster change. In-game leader Jonas “Lekr0” Olofsson is taken out of the starting lineup and replaced with Hampus “hampus” Poser. The new addition will take IGL duties straight from Lekr0’s hands, which makes the timing even more bizarre.
Ninjas in Pyjamas going with a new look
The legendary Swedish organization hasn’t been too shy on roster changes ever since their original CS:GO lineup broke up with Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson’s retirement in October 2014. Initially, NiP only meddled with the fifth member of the squad, but that all changed when Adam “friberg” Friberg got kicked in mid-2017. The organization has been trying to find its old groove back ever since with a number of roster moves that saw the last original member – Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg, depart at the end of 2019.
The latest victim of the org’s transfer activity is Lekr0. The 26-year-old IGL was one of the more seasoned members of Ninjas in Pyjamas. Joining back in June 2018, Lekr0 proved his worth as a fragging in-game leader but failed to bring his team any silverware. How much of that is on him is a different topic, which NiP appear to have a set opinion on.
Today we can announce Hampus @hampuscsgo Poser as our newest CS:GO recruit who will be joining Ninjas in Pyjamas towards the end of the month. Hampus joins the active roster as we move Jonas @Lekr0 Olofsson to the bench.Read more at https://t.co/Q01obzEZIF#GONINJAS #CSGO pic.twitter.com/l5Hu86jHmk
— Ninjas in Pyjamas (@NIPGaming) May 19, 2020
Ironically, Lekr0’s fragging ability might have played a negative role in this case if the official statement from Ninjas in Pyjamas’ COO Jonas Gundersen is anything to go by:
THREAT (Ninjas in Pyjamas' coach) & I decided together with our performance staff that a more natural IGL profile was needed in order to enhance and utilize the incredible amount of young talent we have. Our playbook is evolving fast and the team is putting in a lot of effort in how to establish what it means to be a pro in our forward thinking esports environment. hampus is incredibly ambitious and hard working combined with a firm and jovial attitude, that will for sure enhance what we are already doing. He has proven himself as an incredibly talented player and IGL, and we are confident that he will grab the opportunity to prove himself on the biggest stage under the NiP banner and keep up his progress.
Hampus is an interesting choice to take NiP forward. A roster that has been in dire need of stability and identity hire an IGL that had struggled to remain on a single roster for more than a few months up to his very last team GamerLegion where he finally cracked the one-year mark. Without much success at that.
- READ MORE: Pyth is the next CS:GO pro to jump ship
Certainly this move doesn’t look all that great at first glance. Ninjas in Pyjamas might know more than they’re letting on, but it’s one of those actions that makes the general public scratch their heads.
Hampus has a lot on his shoulders right now and he doesn’t have much time to gather the troops. NiP are part of DreamHack Masters Spring Europe, which already started, though their debut with hampus won’t come until May 28 when they face Team Vitality.
