Ninjas in Pyjamas turned heads when it forked over an estimated $1 million for Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz’ contract, but it could be all for nothing.
Swedish news company Expressen has published an interview with Ninjas in Pyjamas in-game leader Hampus “hampus” Poser. hampus discussed the state of the team going into BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022, even hinting at some of the squad’s updated strategies. hampus also gave an update on the absence of legendary AWPer dev1ce, who has yet to return to professional play.
NiP‘s captain first touched on the absence of dev1ce, a situation that has worried fans since the start of 2022. When asked about the team’s lineup for the Rio Major starting October 31, hampus replied that he expects that the current lineup will most likely attend with dev1ce staying home once again.
“It feels like we never really knew who to play with when dev1ce has disappeared and things like that. So we never got any stability, but now we get to drive with the same team and everyone is here and happy…This is the team we have now,” hampus said, according to digital translation.
dev1ce still on extended mental health break from NiP CSGO squad
Based on previous statements from dev1ce, he is possibly still taking a mental health break. The Ninjas in Pyjamas organization announced his leave on January 20, 2022. dev1ce responded to the post affirming his intent to eventually return to NiP, but almost eight months have passed with no update.
Many prominent names from esports and streaming have taken mental health breaks including Turner “Tfue” Tenney and Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. Multiple players from the Astralis roster took extended mental health breaks, which contributed to the organization’s six-player roster era. Many fans are looking forward to seeing the return of NiP’s star AWPer, but it’s anyone’s guess when he might return.
