Ninjas in Pyjamas have submitted their roster for the upcoming BLAST Premier Spring Groups - and a report claims that Daniil ‘headtr1ck’ Valitov has joined the lineup.
headtr1ck joins Ninjas in Pyjamas for BLAST Premier Spring Groups
That's according to Dextero, who report that the 18-year old player has been included in the team's lineup for the upcoming tournament. Should this prove to be accurate, it's a strong sign that headtr1ck will be joining the main Ninjas in Pyjamas team going forward, as was reported back in December.
Should headtr1ck join the squad, he will be replacing Patrick "es3tag" Hansen, who was benched by Ninjas in Pyjamas on December 21, after a difficult couple of years for the team - which has seemingly prompted a rethink of its line-up.
It's no surprise why the team would be interested in headtr1ck - the young player has already demonstrated his worth as a talented rifler and AWPer. Despite being benched by Natus Vincere Junior in September last year, he has proven to be an asset to the main Natus Vincere squad on two separate occasions - at ESL Pro League Season 15 in May last year, and again at BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022.
Ninjas in Pyjamas is likely hoping that headtr1ck proves capable of fixing their AWP problems, as he is expected to take over Fredrik ‘REZ’ Sterner's duties in that area. The team has struggled to find a reliable primary AWP player ever since Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz was acquired by Astralis in October last year. That role has since been filled by Love "phzy" Smidebrant, es3tag and REZ - but to seemingly limited success.
Alongside headtr1ck, Dextero reports that Ninjas in Pyjamas have also submitted academy players Linus “nilo” Bergman and Max ‘maxster’ Jansson to play on the team for BLAST Premier Spring Groups. The tournament is due to take place from January 19 to January 29, and will kick off the 2023 season.
Ninjas in Pyjamas is seemingly shaking things up as we head into a new year of CS:GO - and we'll be right here to keep you updated every step of the way. Remember to sign up for your free account as we look ahead to the 2023 season!
