The pre-Major shuffle has churned out another unexpected move, with Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP) signing former Astralis and Heroic rifler Martin ‘stavn’ Lund to AWP for the roster.
The announcement quickly followed news that 21-year-old Ukrainian AWPer, Artem ‘r1nkle’ Moroz, would be benched from NIP’s active Counter-Strike roster.
stavn returns to server after a 7-month absence
stavn is set to return to the server after voluntarily benching himself from the Astralis roster in August 2025 due to mental health reasons.
In January, the Dane explained the decision on social media, sharing that he required time away from the server to grieve his brother, who had lost his life to suicide in December 2021.
stavn stated that he had thrown himself into Counter-Strike as a way to “honor” his lost brother, but in August 2025, he “found the courage to stand up for myself and take a pause to heal.”
He added, “It was a hard decision to step down from the game I love and to leave my teammates in a suboptimal situation.”
In that January statement, stavn shared his goal of returning to action in a new roster, with Astralis agreeing to release the player.
Now the time has come, but it has come in an unusual form with the former star rifler taking on AWPing duties for NIP.
It is by no means the only time stavn has taken the AWP. Even in his time at Heroic, the Dane consistently secondary AWPed, with some praising his level with the weapon and commenting that he may be better with the Sniper Rifle than then IGL Casper ‘cadiaN’ Møller.
But Primary AWPing is a different beast, requiring more initiative in the server to call your plays, more consistency with the weapon, and drawing more pressure due to the economic demands of the big green.
r1nkle ends up and down stay at Ninjas in Pyjamas
For r1nkle, it is the end of his time in this NIP roster, where he has played since 2024 following his transfer from B8.
The Ukrainian has always been a mixed bag on the server, at times seemingly brilliant and at other times flustered and flailing.
That inconsistency is not something the Ukrainian has been able to overcome in NIP, but at times, his aggressive AWPing style was NIP’s only hope of success in a roster that lacks star power.
In CS2’s current scene, finding a reliable AWPer has been a sore spot for the majority of rosters, leading to roster stagnation and a lack of progression across several teams.
For NIP, the organization clearly felt that r1nkle’s performances required a change, but statistically, he is far from the worst AWPer at NIP’s ranking.
Instead, the change may be more of a stylistic change, with stavn generally being a stable and passive piece instead of r1nkle’s explosive, but often miscalculated aggression.
The player reflected on his benching on social media, stating, “Today I’ve been informed that I’ve been moved to the bench by Ninjas in Pyjamas. Thanks to all players and obviously NIP for everything.
Addig, “I’m feeling confident, motivated, and ready for what’s next and will now explore my opportunities.”
Do you think this is the right move for NIP? Discuss that on our Discord server!
For more CS roster news, see BC.Game’s double benching news.
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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