Ninjas in Pyjamas got their 1win Private Club Season 1 campaign off to a strong start with a 2-0 victory over 3DMAX, who were riding a wave of confidence after lifting a trophy just two days ago.
This is only Karim "Krimbo" Moussa's second LAN event since he took over as NIP's IGL following Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer's benching. The move raised a few eyebrows in the scene, given he had only called previously while playing for BIG Academy, but the German player said the role feels natural to him.
"I always wanted to be involved in the tactical things, and I obviously was an IGL before I joined the main team in BIG," he told HLTV.
"So it was kind of random, and it also got decided in kind of one day. But I just also wanted to play again."
Krimbo said that he is not obsessed with the race for a spot at the Singapore Major and conceded that, with only a week and a half of practice, the team is still "far from perfect."
"And I also don't really 100% know the players, how maybe stavn likes to play in a clutch, or whatever it is," he noted. "We don't know each other fully yet. And we accept that, but obviously we won't say, 'Okay, it's okay to lose against this right now,' right?
"We always still strive to win, but we obviously just say, 'Okay, this is the situation. This is how it is, and we're just going to make the best out of it.'"
Krimbo, you picked up a win in your opening match at 1win Private Club against 3DMAX. What are your impressions?
It was an important win. I think in general, they come out of a tournament win, right? I have no idea about the VRS rank right now, who's where, if we have chances, doesn't matter. And we knew obviously they would come into the game really confident and also with a good bounty, probably.
I want to talk to you about you joining NIP as an IGL. Can you tell a little bit about how it all happened?
I'm on loan right now, so I haven't fully joined NIP; I'm still under contract with BIG. First of all, we were talking, I think it was two or three months ago. I don't remember who left, but it was the time when N0te joined the team for the first time. We were in talks about me joining as an anchor lurk as normal, but it didn't happen.
And then they expressed interest again, but they said, 'Look, there are multiple other things happening right now.' And because the assistant coach is DuDe, and I worked with DuDe on BIG for two years, and they said, 'Could you imagine being an IGL?' Especially he said, 'I know you from the BIG days'. And I've always been more vocal. I always wanted to be involved in the tactical things, and I obviously was an IGL before I joined the main team in BIG. So it was kind of random, and it also got decided in kind of one day. But I just also wanted to play again.
Is being an IGL something you envisioned before? Was it something you were thinking about along the lines of, 'Oh, I would really want to make the switch when the moment is right,' or, 'This could give longevity to my career'? Did you consider it at all?
I for sure considered it, and I wanted to be an IGL sooner or later. But it just was randomly where they asked, and I just wanted to take this opportunity and come back to the server. Nothing in life works as planned. You imagine how you play, and then when you're old, I don't know, 25, 26, 27, whatever, then you become IGL, right? But it is how it is, and I'm really happy that I can do it.
I was an IGL before, and being an IGL helped me a lot in taking responsibility, first of all. But then second of all, it also helped me a lot in my anchor and lurk positions because you just have a bigger picture of everything. You don't have your small circle around you, your position, and what's happening there, and you just know more about the game. You have a bigger vision, and you think bigger. I always wanted to be more involved in the game tactically but also in-game-wise. kakafu told me, 'Look, it's a bit hard, especially for your positions. We try to implement it as much as we can. But if you really want to have that impact, or that much freedom of talking and everything, you have to become an IGL sooner or later.'
You’re stepping into the shoes of Snappi, one of the most experienced IGLs in the scene. What kind of extra do you think you will be able to bring that Snappi couldn't that could make this team stronger and more competitive?
I have a lot of respect for Snappi. I think he had immense success in his career, also with ENCE back in the days, right? Also in the beginning of NIP where they climbed the rankings and everything last year.
I think with the team we have right now, they were playing too set and too straightforward, and there wasn't much room for players also to share their ideas or play. They didn't play a lot of defaults, let's put it like this. And it was pretty much always straightforward, and I think that's what I can bring to the table because I think, let's say maybe NIP at some time played too set, and we at BIG also at a certain time played too default. So I think I have a good understanding of what is maybe too much on one side. I think in terms of defaults and trying to activate players in a different way, not in a set strat, I think that's the biggest difference.
Do you think you could also improve the overall fragging output of this team in terms of having a strong individual performance while still being an IGL? Do you think it's a part of this?
Yeah, of course. I have played a lot of roles in my entire life. I have played kind of everything, and also now, for example, when I joined the team and we had n0te, and he, for example, wouldn't feel so comfortable in anchor positions, I could just take the anchor positions. But now when adamb joined and took most of the anchor positions, not every, but I can also play the rotation.
For example, Cache mid I played now, or Nuke outside. It's something that is not fully in my blood, but it's also something we have experience in and what I also like to play, also being vocal, active mid-rounds, and trying to also give the big picture for the team. It's also something I like to do as CT. It's also about coming to the table with the calling stuff.
adamb joined shortly after you. Were you aware of this move being in play when you were joining, or did it just happen afterwards?
At the beginning, I also saw this rumor, where he did end up joining. Of course, being an IGL, your opinion weighs more — let's phrase it like this. I just gave my opinion on what I think, and then the rest is NIP management doing and coaching staff deciding. So I wasn't really involved too much there.
But now since he joined, I think the first tournament at Logitech, we had like two days of practice, and I think that's just not enough, especially me being an IGL also for two or three weeks. Every new thing is coming together, then also the players maybe are getting to learn a newer play style as well, with me coming in as an IGL. And then it was a lot coming together, not too much new stuff. So we also accepted the situation and said, 'Okay, it's maybe a bit too much chaos, but it's fine. Let's just thrive in the chaos for now.' But we had a good bootcamp now in Warsaw for a week and a half, and everyone could find more of their groove, and I think now everyone is feeling much more comfortable.
How do you feel you are fitting into the team with Xizt as coach and the team in general? Do you already feel comfortable, or are there more gaps to bridge?
To be honest, I felt really comfortable from the first second I joined. Also, when I was talking with them about being an IGL, I had no doubts in my mind or fear about it. And it's a big responsibility, right? So it also comes with a lot of challenges, but I think that's also what it's supposed to be. It's not supposed to be boring. It's also supposed to be hard. And not easy at some times.
But in general, I think that when I joined first, I, Xizt, and DuDe shared a kind of similar vision, and they also gave me a lot of freedom to call how I want. And then they just tried to fit in, especially at the beginning. They don't want to put a certain play style on me as an IGL. They want me to also develop myself and see where it goes. But also when I met the players, I think we have a really, really great team chemistry. We have a lot of fun outside of the server as well. There has been nothing but comfort yet.
NIP has a very big name in Counter-Strike and most probably still has a very big ambition behind the project, at the very least when it comes to making the Major. Does it give you any pressure?
Yeah, obviously NIP is a great and insanely big org, and they obviously belong among the best of the best in the scene. And that's what we are here for. I think in general, as I said, in the beginning, winning this game, maybe then you have a 10% chance or whatever. Our job is to go on the server and win and practice. But that's our job, to perform under pressure and belong to the best.
And the Major race, as you referenced, is already on, and this tournament might have a big impact on your Major chances. What's the attitude towards this event specifically?
As I said, we obviously know that nothing is perfect right now. Far from perfect. And we have only had one and a half weeks of practice. So we also accept that. But obviously we don't say, 'Okay, we didn't have max practice. It's okay to lose.' I think we just have to take the best out of the situation and accept that right now it's going to be a bit chaotic. We don't have a deep playbook, a deep strat book.
And I also don't really 100% know the players, how maybe stavn likes to play in a clutch, or whatever it is. We don't know each other fully yet. And we accept that, but obviously we won't say, 'Okay, it's okay to lose against this right now,' right? We always still strive to win, but we obviously just say, 'Okay, this is the situation. This is how it is, and we're just going to make the best out of it.'
BIG Academy
David 'prosus' Hesse
Phillip 'w1dow' Hemke
Anton 'doni' Savienkov
Asim 'aZe' Khodzhaev
Nikolas 'Hrdina' Hutira
Timo 'Spiidi' Richter
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Martin 'stavn' Lund
Rasmus 'sjuush' Beck
Karim 'Krimbo' Moussa
Adam 'adamb' Ångström
Kacper 'xKacpersky' Gabara
Richard 'Xizt' Landström
3DMAX
Bryan 'Maka' Canda
Lucas 'Lucky' Chastang
Kévin 'misutaaa' Rabier
Jeremy 'Kursy' Gast
Filip 'Graviti' Brankovic
Damien 'wasiNk' Dufour
Marco 'Snappi' PfeifferPast 3 months
Karim 'Krimbo' MoussaPast 3 months