Stockholm-based esports organization Ninjas in Pyjamas has announced the return of Björn “THREAT” Pers in the Head Coach role for its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. The 31-year-old will replace Faruk “pita” Pita, who parts ways with Ninjas in Pyjamas after a two-year stint. This news comes shortly after the organization announced it had established its new headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden and brought on new management.
A Coaching Staff Update for CS:GO Team.https://t.co/AfJj2SdIJ6#GONINJAS #CSGO pic.twitter.com/UnWmYasxJM
— Ninjas in Pyjamas (@NIP) January 6, 2020
THREAT as Head Coach
“The competitive environment of CS:GO is evolving at an incredibly fast pace and it’s not slowing down anytime soon,” said Jonas Gundersen, Chief Operating Officer for Ninjas in Pyjamas. “Björn is an incredibly insightful CS:GO coach and is someone that knows NiP from the inside. He is a great guy and I am very excited to have him back to help us deal with the challenges ahead.”
Gundersen goes on to describe that Pita also did great work for the Ninjas in Pyjamas organization, but that the team had not performed up to expectations in the recent season. As such, a different perspective is needed to adjust to emerging competitors in the CSGO scene, especially with the new year starting up.
In addition, THREAT has previously held a role in the organization’s coaching staff for a few years. He led Ninjas in Pyjamas to a 1st-place finish at the 2016 DreamHack Masters Malmö tournament, where the team took home a $100,000 cut of the prize pool. Other notable achievements include 1st at 2017’s DreamHack Open Valencia event and Intel Extreme Masters XII in Oakland.
Ninjas in Pyjamas in 2020
“It is with great excitement that I can finally announce my return to my old post as Head Coach for NiP CS:GO,” said THREAT. “After working as a developer/data scientist for two years I felt that I still had a lot of CS:GO left in me and that these two years have given me a new fresh perspective on how to approach the game.”
The current Ninjas in Pyjamas roster consists of players Fredrik “REZ” Sterner, Jonas “Lekr0” Olofsson, Nicolas “Plopski” Gonzalez Zamora, Simon “twist” Eliasson, and Tim “nawwk ” Jonasson. THREAT makes his first appearance as Head Coach at BLAST Premier in London on Jan. 31. Twelve teams will clash for a $300,000 prize pool, along with seeding to the Spring 2020 Showdown and Finals.
