Ninjas in Pyjamas Bench Es3tag

Swedish Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, Ninjas in Pyjamas, have announced that Patrick “es3tag” Hansen is being moved to the bench.

The news surfaced on Wednesday, December 21, just a month following Ninjas in Pyjamas’ semifinal appearance at BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2022.

Ninjas in Pyjamas officially benched es3tag on Wednesday, ending the Danes’ one-year-long journey with the team. Es3tag joined Ninjas in Pyjamas in November 2021 as a replacement for Linus “LNZ” Holtäng, who was moved to Young Ninjas after a five-month-long stint as a stand-in for the main roster.

“In preparation of the next year, we’ve been evaluating the team composition overall, and have moved Patrick “es3tag” Hansen to the bench, and are allowing him to explore new opportunities ahead of the 2023 season,” read the announcement.

“Patrick has been a fantastic team mate, colleague, and player to have at NIP. We have nothing but good things to say about him, and we are sure he will find success where ever he goes next.”

Since joining NiP, es3tag has served as a key member of the starting roster, helping Ninjas in Pyjamas achieve a lot over the 12 months he has spent with the Swedish squad. Just a month after signing for NiP, es3tag helped the squad place second at Intel Extreme Masters XVI – Winter, but that was just the beginning.

In 2022, NiP, with es3tag, reached PGL Major Antwerp 2022 quarterfinals, won Global Esports Tour Dubai 2022, and qualified for the IEM Rio Major. But, unfortunately, the team failed to win any tournaments besides the Global Esports Tour Dubai 2022, which likely ushered in roster changes ahead of the 2023 season.

So despite enjoying a fairly successful stint with NiP, the Swedish esports organization decided to part ways with es3tag as the squad looks to rebuild the roster composition. But it remains to be seen who will take over the Danes’ position and whether NiP will look to make more roster moves.

Es3tag started his CS:GO esports career in April 2015 when he played for KappaKappa, and has since represented a plethora of squads. His first stint with a big team came in September 2019 when es3tag joined Tricked Esports, and he later teamed up with Heroic, who he was a part of for nearly three years, before leaving for FunPlus Phoenix in March 2020.

In late 2020, es3tag also enjoyed a short stint with Astralis before leaving for Cloud9 and Complexity, which he joined in July 2021 and left in November 2021 to play for Ninjas in Pyjamas.

Throughout his nomadic career, es3tag has achieved plenty, winning many A-Tier CS:GO tournaments and achieving remarkable success at some of the biggest competitions in the world. Some of his most notable accomplishments include semifinals at EPICENTER 2019, ESL Pro League Season 12: Europe title, runner-up at Intel Extreme Masters XVI – Winter, and quarterfinals at PGL Major Antwerp 2022.

Interestingly, some of his most notable tournament runs came with Ninjas in Pyjamas. So despite being let go from the team, es3tag will have plenty to show for when looking for a new home.

“Benched by Ninjas in Pyjamas. A bumpy road, but I’m standing here at the end, proud of what we’ve accomplished,” said es3tag.

“I will be taking my time to properly gauge what’s next for me. Wishing the best for my teammates and NiP, it’s been a ride I’ll always remember.”

It’s currently unclear where es3tag will continue his career or who will join Ninjas in Pyjamas as his replacement. But there’s still plenty of time for both parties to figure out their future plans, as we’re over a month away from the next important event – IEM Katowice 2023.