Xizt: “I don’t think Cache has changed much since the CS:GO days. Many strategies on the map have remained the same.”
Ninjas in Pyjamas coach Richard “Xizt” Landström, in an interview at the Esports World Cup 2026, explained the reasons behind his team’s loss to Astralis on the Nuke map, shared his thoughts on the updated Cache, and discussed the future of the “Ninjas” following their elimination from the tournament.
On the loss to Astralis on Nuke
Perhaps we focused too much on our plan for Nuke instead of playing our usual style. Astralis obviously prepared well for the match, too. Their players were racking up entry kills, constantly outgunning us on the “street” and in the “main.” We died too often without trading kills. On top of that, our team gave up two rounds while holding a numerical advantage on defense. We made a bunch of mistakes and couldn’t pull off a comeback.
On Cache
I don’t think Cache has changed much since the days of CS:GO. Many of the strategies on it have remained the same. It’s frustrating that we’ve only lost on this map so far. We need to keep working on Cache and try to find a new approach to it.
On the Future of Ninjas in Pyjamas
We have several online qualifiers ahead of us—we need to qualify for the upcoming Tier 1 tournaments and perform well in them to secure an invite to the PGL Major Singapore 2026.
Yesterday, Ninjas in Pyjamas lost to Astralis 1–2 in the main stage of the 2026 Esports World Cup for Counter-Strike 2. The team finished the tournament in 17th–24th place and received $20,000 in prize money.
Photo by Sebastian Pandelache, PGL.
