NIP complete k0nfig signing as hampus faces long spell out
Adela Sznajder/ESL Gaming via ESPATNIP have announced that they have bolstered their squad with the addition of former Astralis rifler Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke.
k0nfig joins NIP’s team with immediate effect, replacing Hampus ‘hampus’ Poser in the starting lineup as the Swedish player will take a break from competition until the summer because of health reasons.
hampus was announced as unavailable by NIP on January 25, during the team’s campaign in the BLAST Premier Spring Groups, due to what the organization described as “unforeseen personal circumstances”. He is being replaced by academy player Max ‘maxster’ Jansson for the remainder of the tournament.
This is k0nfig’s first team since he was released by Astralis in October. His time on the Danish team came to an unceremonious end after he fractured an ankle during a fight in Malta. The injury saw him miss the ensuing European RMRs, where Astralis, playing with a stand-in, could not qualify for the IEM Rio Major.
In a November 11 interview with Dexerto, k0nfig opened up about the scuffles he was involved in while attending events and said that he was eliminating some bad habits from his life, including excessive drinking, with the help of a therapist.
Before the end of the year, he played for Heroic at the BLAST Premier World Final, where he averaged a team-high 1.11 rating. He was due to play for FaZe in the BLAST Premier Spring Groups as a stand-in before the move was blocked by BLAST as he was already registered on Heroic’s roster for the event.
NIP lose Swedish core with k0nfig signing
k0nfig becomes the second player to join NIP since the start of the year following the arrival of Ukrainian AWPer Daniil ‘headtr1ck’ Valitov from NAVI.
With hampus set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, NIP looked to find a long-term solution to plug the hole in the squad rather than promote a player from the academy. The Swedish organization believes this is the right time to onboard another player as headtr1ck is still adjusting to his new surroundings.
Jak Howard/BLASTk0nfig’s signing marks the start of a new chapter in NIP’s history as the lineup will no longer have a Swedish majority. The team began communicating in English in September 2022 following the signing of Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen, who took the captaincy role from hampus.
k0nfig will make his first appearance for NIP at the upcoming IEM Katowice event. The Ninjas will take on MIBR in the opening round of the Play-In stage, scheduled for February 1.
NIP CS:GO roster:
- Fredrik ‘REZ’ Sterner
- Ludvig ‘Brollan’ Brolin
- Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen
- Daniil ‘headtr1ck’ Valitov
- Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke
- Daniel ‘djL’ Narancic (coach)
- Patrick ‘es3tag’ Hansen (bench)
- Hampus ‘hampus’ Poser (inactive)