NiP reportedly looking to bring NAVI Academy player into its CS:GO roster

Ninjas in Pyjamas has already reportedly found a replacement for Patrick “es3tag” Hansen.

The Swedish organization is interested in acquiring NAVI Junior CS:GO player, Danyyl “headtr1ck” Valitov, according to Dexerto’s Luis Mira. The 18-year-old Ukrainian is one of the most promising academy players and has already subbed in for the main NAVI CS:GO team at ESL Pro League season 15 and BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022.

Furthermore, headtr1ck is up for grabs by other CS:GO teams. Natus Vincere said it was open to offers for the Ukrainian in September 2022.

The 18-year-old feels comfortable as both a rifler and AWPer in the game. Therefore, he would fit into NiP’s roster, which yesterday benched es3tag. In his own statement, es3tag said he will take time to evaluate what’s best and next for him. With that, it’s unlikely that more updates regarding the Dane will come in the nearby future.

As of NiP, the team will be competing at IEM Katowice 2023, which begins on Jan. 31. With it being a bit more than a month away from the first S-tier tournament of the year, the organization is surely looking to quickly fill the gap left by es3tag.

Headtr1ck has some solid numbers to back himself up. In 2022, he boasted a 1.27 Rating 2.0, 1.27 Impact, 87.2 average damage, and only 0.62 deaths per round, according to HLTV. With such skills, it’s no surprise that top teams are looking to him as a potential new signing.