NiP to reportedly replace LNZ with es3tag

Ninjas in Pyjamas is close to concluding the signing of Complexity rifler Patrick “es3tag” Hansen ahead of the BLAST Premier Fall Final, according to a report by Dexerto.

Es3tag has been looking for a new CS:GO team since early November when Complexity benched him and the Australian star Justin “jks” Savage. If NiP can secure his services in the next few days, he’ll join the active lineup with immediate effect to replace Linus “LNZ” Holtäng, who was promoted from the org’s academy roster in June.

The reported roster change comes less than two weeks after the PGL Stockholm Major where NiP barely made it into the playoffs, only to lose to G2 Esports in the quarterfinals. Es3tag should add more firepower and experience to the squad. He also played with Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz on Astralis during a short period in 2020 before he signed a contract with Cloud9. With this move, NiP would move a step further toward an international project since the team would have three Swedish players and two Danes.

Es3tag has been a part of Complexity since July and didn’t accomplish anything with the team. The “Juggernaut” struggled with the loss of Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke, who broke and dislocated his wrist at the end of the summer player break. Complexity fell flat at several tournaments and didn’t qualify for the PGL Stockholm Major.

The BLAST Premier Fall Final will be played on LAN in front of a live audience at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark. The $425,000 tournament will run from Nov. 24 to 28 and features NiP, Vitality, Natus Vincere, Astralis, BIG, FaZe Clan, Heroic, and Team Liquid.