Legendary CS:GO player Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg ended his over seven-year stint with the Ninjas in Pyjamas today.
The 31-year-old was the last player standing from the original NiP lineup assembled in August 2012. F0rest played a major role on that roster that won several LAN tournaments, including the ESL One Cologne Major in August 2014, and dominated the competitive scene in its early stage.
The lineup of f0rest, Christopher “GeT_RighT” Alesund, Richard “Xizt” Landström, Adam Friberg, and Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson holds one of the most impressive records in CS:GO. They had an 87-map win streak in LAN matches during 2013, the most dominant year of NiP.
F0rest, however, won’t retire yet. The veteran is reportedly leaving NiP to join Dignitas alongside his ex-teammates GeT_RiGhT, Xizt, and Friberg, plus the Norwegian newcomer Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærli. He still has the competitive drive and was statistically NiP’s best player in 2019, according to HLTV.
“Patrik is a true icon of the game with a long list of accolades and has been instrumental in the legacy and brand of NiP for many years,” NiP’s COO, Jonas Gundersen said. “After having been with the same team for so long and achieved so much, it’s a natural thing to want a change of scenery. We have of course chosen to honor that request and wish him the very best of luck on his next adventure.”
He’ll be replaced by Tim “nawwk” Jonasson, who’s been signed from GamerLegion. Nawwk plays with the AWP but will take on a more hybrid role with NiP. Simon “twist” Eliasson will remain the team’s main sniper for now.
We can’t predict whether NiP will be better with nawwk, but it’s clear that the Swedish organization lost a big part of its identity since GeT_RiGhT and f0rest are no longer playing for them.
