Adam ”friberg” Friberg has been dominating on the CS:GO-scene since the day Ninjas in Pyjamas saw the light of day. Though 2014 might be categorized as a fantastic year for the Swedish, they still lost two major finals. Something friberg and the rest of the team is looking to change during 2015.
– We will put our efforts on an old and proven tactic, friberg told Aftonbladet Esport.

2014 will be remembered by many of us as the year Counter-Strike Global Offensive definitely cemented its place in the esport stratosphere. In December 5,181,302 players played the game, and during Dreamhack Winter CS:GO broke the 500 000 concurrent viewer barrier.

The community is growing like never before, the prize pools seem to follow suit. And in the middle of the storm a firm pillar still stands.

More than two years have past since Christopher ”GeT_RiGhT” Alesund and Patrik ”f0rest” Lindberg decided to create a team in CS:GO. The new version of CS was in its beta stage when the Swedish stars started to test the game alongside Robin ”Fifflaren” Johansson, Richard ”Xizt” Landström and a certain Adam ”friberg” Friberg.

”We worked in Dublin in those days”

Early on, GeT_RiGhT and f0rest determined that Fifflaren would be brought in since he was the best ingame leader in Counter-Strike Source. Together with the former SK Gaming stars and Xizt, the team had four of its five players. Who was going to be the fifth player was uncertain for a long time.
– Robin and I worked and played in Dublin in those days. We played in 30P-Gaming, which at that time was the best Swedish Source-team. We faced the other guys on several lans and they asked us if we wanted to test CS:GO together.

Friberg talks about the past with his usual west coast accent. Years have passed since the time Ninjas in Pyjamas was formed, and the success NiP have gathered friberg nearly missed out on. The fifth spot on the team was for a long time dedicated to Johan ’face’ Klasson of SK Gaming.
– But since I had played so much with the guys, they decided to go with me.

A decision NiP have hardly regretted ever since then.

Old tactics returning

The memories from times gone by have been filled with victories and total dominance, but also defeats and losses in finals. During the 2014 season the Swedish team lost two out of three grand finals in the majors. But as 2015 rolls around NiP will fall back to an old and proven tactic.
– In the past we have always had two maps which the other teams never wanted to face us on, but was forced to due to the veto system. When both Nuke and Train was in the map pool, it was like we always was going into every best of three with a 1-0 advantage.

The Swedish superstar revealed to Aftonbladet Esport that NiP has the ambition to go all in on one map again. The recipe for success in the past will once more make its entrance and, according to friberg, propel the team to the absolute top again.

Considering that the French teams dominate on Dust2, Virtus.Pro have adopted Cache as its favorite map and the fact that Fnatic destroys almost everybody they face on Inferno – which map will you put your focus on?
– Prior to Dreamhack Winter we focused a lot on Inferno, and proved to the world that we can beat all teams on that map. But as of now we still haven’t decided which map we will go all in on, we will have a long discussion within the team regarding this aspect of our tactics.

What does an everyday training session in NiP look like?
– Our usual practice have several different features. Sometimes we scrim against other professionals teams during which we more or less just run around and try out different stuff. In other sequences of our practice we focus on strategies on the maps, laying out smokes, timing and flashes.

What’s it like in one of your official matches? Can you describe how Xizt guides the team to victory and how you execute your strategies?
– Sometimes we have carved out special tactics where we throw the grenades at set moments and we all know what to do and where all of our teammates are. At other times Xizt can call ’default’ and we lurk around the map gathering information to Xizt who then decides which execute to use.

”I’m the best”

When ”friberg” played CSS there were few teams being given salary for their effort. The upper echelon was forced to work during the day, and play by night. For the CS:GO teams of today, the everyday life is considerably different. But, according to the 23 year old ninja, the world of esports still has a long way to go until it reaches the maturity in relation to how big everything have become.
– You have to remember that several of these young and talented players are teenagers. They don’t have the experience needed to make good decisions regarding contracts and such.

Might it be that the organizations of the world have to much power in relation to the players that leads to contracts being as short termed as they are, and not friendly to the players?
– Definitely. However, there are young players who don’t want to sign long term contracts since they don’t know how the atmosphere might be in the team. But I’ve also seen players leave organizations and sign new deals with new teams which they later disregard completely. The business is still a bit immature.

One aspect that most players have added to their income arsenal is streaming. Friberg was one of the first pros to adapt to the new world of digital entertainment. Recently his Twitch-channel hasn’t been too active, but that is something he hopes to change and he’s looking to deliver more content in the future.
– The problem with streaming is that I often start the stream it shortly after I wake up and play until we have practice with the team. In other words I play Counter-Strike more than 12 hours of the day, and if you play that much you eventually grow tired of the game.

According to you, who is the best streamer right now?
– I’m the best, he quickly responds and continue:
– It’s actually quite funny to watch professional players begin to stream. At the beginning they are quiet and just stare at the screen, disregarding the chat. I thinkg I might be the best player and at the same time the best professional player when it comes to the interaction with the viewers. At the same time there are streamers like Jaryd ”summit1g” Lazar who’s really good at keeping the stream alive while they might not be the best players in the world. I believe I might have found my niche between gaming quality and streaming quality.

While we are on the subject of Twitch and streaming, what do you think about Fifflaren in the commentators box? What do you have to say about his newfound career?
– He is excellent as a caster and commentator. Fifflaren has a really good game sense and understanding of the game, and his english is really good which is beneficial to him.

How much do you guys socialize with Fifflaren since his depature?
– We hang out a lot. He is one of my best friends and we live fairly close to each other. We are like two old colleagues who still are friends when one of them has left the workplace.

You guys in Ninjas in Pyjamas are some what of an exception in the esport world considering how long the core of this team have remained the same. How does the relationship between you guys look and how long do you think the team will stay together?
– We socialize a lot and we are all really good friends. We who live in Stockholm go out and have a few beers every now and again. I believe that the team chemistry is the key to this group of players, something that according to me might hold this team together for years to come.

The question have been asked a lot recently, but how is everything working out for Mikail ”Maikelele” Bill?
– It’s been going really well. We still have a lot to work on, and there are aspects that can still develop. But overall he has to understand our way of playing. The one thing that have made NiP as strong as we have been have been thanks to the fact that we all know where the other guys are and what they are thinking. Maikelele just needs to settle in and adapt to that fact.

”We will be very prepared when we arrive”

The new season begins with a big bang. On the other side of the pond, MLG will host a CS:GO-tournament during X-Games in Aspen. The teams participating are among the best teams in the world. Ninjas in Pyjamas will play alongside Fnatic, LDLC and the best teams in the USA.
– We have been practicing really hard for this tourney ever since our vacations ended, and we will also do a bootcamp at our house in Halmstad.

What’s the feeling like down there in that mansion of yours?
– It’s exceptionally beautiful. The house was built during the 19th century and feels strange to be gaming in a house like that.

What are your thoughts regarding your chances in MLG?
– We go in with the mindset to win it all, we always do that. We have been practicing almost everyday for three weeks and we will be very prepared when we arrive.

Since the birth of NiP:s CS:GO team in August of 2012 the world of esports has changed radically. More money has been coming in, several organizations have come and gone, but few have weathered the storm like quite like Ninjas in Pyjamas. And there seems to be no end in sight, but that doesn’t hold friberg back when it comes to looking into the future.
– I would really love to do something within esport the day I put down my mouse. If that then happens to be like a caster or manager, I don’t know. All I know is that I have a long time left to go before that day comes.