NIP acquire headtr1ck ahead of the upcoming season

The Swedish organization Ninjas in Pyjamas has acquired Danyyl “headtr1ck” Valitov from Natus Vincere Junior ahead of the upcoming 2023 GS:GO season. 

Ninjas in Pyjamas has acquired former Natus Vincere Academy prospect Daniil “⁠headtr1ck⁠” Valitov, confirming the long-running speculations. The organization had been trying to sign headtr1ck for quite a while now, ever since they benched Patrick “es3tag” Hansen following the end of the 2022 CS GO season. 

Headtr1ck will take es3tag’s spot in the active roster and play beside IGL Aleksi “⁠Aleksib⁠” Virolainen, and the rifle mains Fredrik “⁠REZ⁠” Sterner, Ludvig “⁠Brollan⁠” Brolin, and Hampus “⁠hampus⁠” Poser. Headtr1ck is one of the most exciting prospects to emerge from the renowned NAVI Academy, which has recently been involved in the growth of players like Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov.

The 18-year-old AWPer played for the Youth team for the first two years of the organization’s academy program before moving on to the Junior team in August 2021. His performance in the WePlay Academy League, where he was praised for being an effective AWPer, earned him a strong HLTV rating of 1.39 against academy teams.

The youngster also performed admirably in the two appearances he made with the NAVI at the Tier-1 competition in the absence of Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev. He outperformed numerous well-known CS:GO players from all around the world at the ESL Pro League Season 15 and the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, averaging 0.97 and 1.12 ratings, respectively, according to HLTV.

Will headtr1ck put a stop to NiP’s protracted hunt for a star AWPer?

The move comes in response to the team’s appalling showing at several CS:GO tournaments in 2022, most notably at the IEM Rio Major, where they were eliminated from the competition without winning a single map. Furthermore, the organization had been searching for a suitable replacement for Nicolai “device” Reedtz, who decided to leave the starting lineup in late 2021, for some time now. 

The organization’s most recent attempt to fill the vacuum featured Fredrik “REZ” Sterner, who for the first time in his career assumed the AWPer role in a primary capacity and has subsequently come under intense criticism as a response to team performance at Rio Major.

Prior to that, es3tag carried out the sniping responsibilities after Love “phzy” Smidebrant rejoined the Young Ninjas academy team. Now that headtr1ck, the 18-year-old emerging talent, has joined the team, he faces the challenges of fulfilling NIP’s desperate need for a high-level AWPer.

Ninjas in Pyjamas CS:GO roster for the 2023 season:

• Fredrik “⁠REZ⁠” Sterner
• Hampus “⁠hampus⁠” Poser
• Ludvig “⁠Brollan⁠” Brolin
• Aleksi “⁠Aleksib⁠” Virolainen
• Daniil “⁠headtr1ck⁠” Valitov
• Daniel “⁠djL⁠” Narancic (coach)
• Patrick “⁠es3tag⁠” Hansen (inactive)

Header: NAVI