CS2 Roster News: NIP Lose Their IGL

The first days of September brought two roster stories from the "end of an era" category: NIP lost their in-game leader, and one of the veterans of the French scene announced his retirement. On top of that, illness pulled a GamerLegion player out right before the IEM Beijing qualifier, and three organisations are circling the 3DMAX roster. Here is what is known as of 2 September.

NIP: snappi steps down

On 31 August Ninjas in Pyjamas and Marco "snappi" Pfeiffer parted ways by mutual agreement. The Dane is 36, and he had captained NIP for a year and a half, since the start of 2025. The results over that period were modest: snappi's rating against top-20 opposition sat at 0.83, and the roster's highlights amount to a PGL Astana quarter-final and a couple of smaller titles while spending almost all of that time outside the top 20.

No replacement has been announced. The active roster still holds sjuush, xKacpersky, stavn and n0te as a stand-in, with Xizt coaching. In other words, NIP are now looking for both a new IGL and a permanent fifth.

hAdji retires as a player

On 1 September Ali "hAdji" Haïnouss announced the end of his playing career. The Frenchman is 30, has been in professional CS since 2015 and went through more than twenty teams in eleven years, among them Envy, LDLC, 3DMAX, Falcons, Monte and illwill. He never played a Major.

"After years of dedication and chasing dreams, I've decided to retire as a player," hAdji wrote. He is not leaving the industry: he is open to coaching or other staff work with a team.

GamerLegion bring in Maden for the IEM Beijing qualifier

GamerLegion have a health problem on their hands: Sebastian "Tauson" Lindelof spent four to five days in hospital with reactive arthritis, which hit his knee and then his left hand. Doctors expect one to three weeks of recovery; the 21-year-old Dane hopes to be back for FISSURE Playground 3.

The one-off stand-in is Pavle "Maden" Bošković, a 27-year-old Montenegrin who has been a free agent since April, when he left fnatic. The roster itself is unchanged: Tauson remains a GamerLegion player. They are playing the closed qualifier for IEM Beijing: a 16-team online bracket running from 2 to 4 September for two spots at the November event. GamerLegion's main roster is Snax, REZ, Tauson, hypex and FL4MUS.

Update, 2 September: the team forfeited its opening qualifier match against Nuclear TigeRES without playing. They could not field five: Tauson is on the injured list and Snax had a prior medical appointment that could not be moved. Their run is not over, though: they start in the lower bracket against the loser of K27 vs magic, with Maden standing in for Tauson.

Three organisations circle the 3DMAX roster

According to the French podcast Croissant Strike and insider Guillaume "neL" Rathier, Envy, Heretics and OG are all interested in the 3DMAX roster, with Envy furthest along in talks. There is no official confirmation: this is insider reporting and should be treated as such.

The backdrop is grim: per HLTV, citing insider Sébastien "KRL" Perez, 3DMAX owe players, staff and partners more than €1.5 million, and a summer deal with another buyer fell through. Envy owner Mike "hastr0" Rufail has been eyeing a return to Counter-Strike since early 2025.

Copenhagen Wolves hint at a comeback

The organisation, familiar from the CS:GO era, posted that it is "exploring a potential return to Counter-Strike" and looking for partners. The brand belongs to American Jared "Outback" Habib, who bought Copenhagen Wolves in late 2023; the CS division was paused in January 2026. There is no concrete information about a roster or timeline yet.

In brief: where teams are signing up

• ROG Journey Autumn 2026: 2–4 October, Skövde (Sweden), $20,000. Voca, NIP and BC.Game have entered.
• Elisa BreakOut Series #2: 15–17 October, Tampere (Finland), 8 teams, €15,000. NRG, Wildcard and Voca are on the waitlist; registration closes on 15 September.

The next big event on the scene is StarSeries Fall in Barcelona on 17–20 September. The full flow of moves from our database is on the CS2 transfers page, and team line-ups are in the ranking.

Frequently asked questions

Why did snappi leave NIP?

The two sides parted by mutual agreement on 31 August 2026 after a year and a half together. The team spent almost all of that time outside the top 20, and snappi's rating against top-20 opponents was 0.83.

Who is NIP's IGL now?

Nobody yet: the club has not announced a replacement. The roster still holds sjuush, xKacpersky, stavn and stand-in n0te, with coach Xizt.

What happened to Tauson?

The GamerLegion player was hospitalised with reactive arthritis, which affected his knee and then his left hand. Recovery is expected to take one to three weeks; Maden stands in for the IEM Beijing qualifier, but Tauson stays on the roster.

Is 3DMAX really being sold?

Nothing has been announced officially. Insiders report interest from Envy, Heretics and OG, and the organisation carries significant debt, but none of the clubs have confirmed anything.

Sources

HLTV reports: snappi leaving NIP, hAdji's retirement, Maden with GamerLegion, the IEM Beijing qualifier forfeit. Dust2 coverage: talks around 3DMAX, the Copenhagen Wolves teaser, ROG Journey entries and the Elisa BreakOut waitlist.