Former Astralis and HEROIC player Martin “stavn” Lund recently made his return to competition at CCT Globals Finals 2026, sporting the AWP for Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Despite the role swap and almost a year without competition, the Dane impressed in his first event back, fitting in with his teammates and showing no signs of rust on the server.
Can NIP make the step up to tier 1 with stavn as their sniper?
stavn seems to be fitting in well with the Ninjas. Image credit: @CCT_CS
stavn’s primary AWPing debut went much better than many fans expected. NIP ultimately finished CCT Global Finals 2026 in third, with stavn as their second-best performing player at the event.
The Dane was solid throughout, delivering constant impact, especially in NIP’s opening game against Sharks, where he made quick work of the Brazilians. Bar a slightly disappointing showing in the consolidation final, this event was a successful return to competition for stavn.
Apart from his individual skill, stavn also brings a lot of experience to NIP’s roster. Despite being only 24 years old, he has been playing in tier 1 for over five years, winning several tournaments and EVPs along the way.
After a difficult time on Astralis, rebuilding his form in a new role and in a new environment with less pressure might be exactly what stavn needs to get back to his pre-2024 form, where he was consistently one of the best Counter-Strike players in the world.
While CS2 betting on every NIP game from now on might not be the smartest decision, more victories should be on the way for stavn and co.
NIP’s roster suddenly looks like it has serious tier 1 potential. Image credit: @CCT_CS
Kacper “xKacpersky” Grabara has been one of the most impressive young talents in tier 1.5 for a while now. He’s putting up incredible numbers against similar-level opposition, while not dropping off much against the best CS2 teams.
Unfortunately, he often had to carry NIP on his own, without much help from his teammates. That is, until now. With stavn joining the lineup, the whole roster seems to have improved not only firepower-wise but also in terms of team synergy and atmosphere within the lineup.
If NIP perform well at the upcoming CS2 events, VRS gains could net them precious invites to tier one tournaments in the second half of the year. That way, talents like xKacpersky and stavn, for that matter, might want to stick around a bit longer instead of jumping ship to another team.
The next time we will get to see NIP will be at the CS Asia Championships 2026, where they’ll get to test their abilities against some of the world’s best CS2 players, including Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov and Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin.
Let’s see if they have what it takes to challenge the big boys.
Read also: MOUZ begin roster revamp ahead of IEM Cologne Major
Featured image credit: @CCT_CS
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