After Getting Kicked Off His Team, Counter-Strike Pro Returns To Help Them Win

In Kiev, Ninjas in Pyjamas are victorious after beating G2 Gaming in a swift, 2-0 series. The Swedes went 16-7 on the first map, Cache, followed by a much closer, 22-18 nail-biter on Overpass which found the Frenchmen unable to stop the bleeding.

NiP’s commanding finish was helped in no small part due to Mikail “Maikelele” Bill’s top-notch play, including multi-kills at just the right moments to help his team sweep the legs out from under any potential G2 comeback. I can imagine worse ways to celebrate his return to NiP than with the most sniper kills on the second map and a 1.58 kill/death ratio on the first.

Maikelele played with NiP throughout 2014 and 2015 before before leaving after a string of unsatisfactory performances led to tryouts for his replacement. NiP argued that he lacked experience, and some claimed he wanted out, but Maikelele always denied those accusations. After brief stints with Team Kinguin, G2 Esports, and FaZe Clan, he spent most of the late spring and early summer of this year without a team

Then, in late August, NiP announced that Joakim “disco doplan” Gidetun, who was already filling in for the injured Jacob “pyth” Mourujärvi, would give way for Maikelele’s return:

In Joakim ”disco doplan” Gidetuns place we are happy to annouce the return of a familiar face, The former NiP player, Maikel “Maikelele” Bill, will be returning to fill Jacob ”pyth” Mourujärvi´s spot until he has fully recovered. We are extremely happy to have Maikel ”Maikelele” Bill back and wish him the best of luck playing with us. Maikel will be joining our team this week for their bootcamp and preparations for the upcoming Kiev event, as well as playing our ESL Pro League games going forward.

#GONINJAS

Clearly, the decision paid off, with NiP set to return to the ELS Pro League next week as champions of StarSeries Season 2. Maikelele seems pretty excited too.

YEEEEEES!!!! Winner of starladders 🎉🎉❤️❤️❤️👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼

— Maikelele (@maikelele) September 11, 2016

The question on everyone’s mind, though, is whether NiP will be able to make the most of this revitalized synergy, or if Maikelele’s return will simply result in more friction and be short-lived.

Based on today’s performances, what do you think will happen?