Grim on NRG move: “When I joined, they basically gave me most roles I wanted”

At 25 years old, Grim has already played for North America’s biggest organizations. After moving from Passion UA, he has embarked on a new adventure with NRG, alongside other NA stalwarts like nitr0 and oSee.

Now, he and his new team arrive at BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 looking to make an early impact. We spoke to Grim ahead of the event, where he gave us his thoughts on his new teammates, his decision to leave his old squad, and his hopes for this roster going forward!

Grim: “We’re definitely going to show a better face [at BLAST Open Rotterdam]”

Daniel Morris: First off, Grim, congratulations on the move to NRG. With that change, you moved away from a core of players who you’d played with for quite a while. JT, hallzerk, T.c as coach. Can you tell me a little bit about your feelings and emotions when making that decision?

Michael “Grim” Wince: Yeah, I mean, obviously it’s gonna be a bit difficult because basically, more than half of my Tier 1 career at this point, I’ve been playing with the same guys, so it’s like, really easy to play with them and know how they are outside the game, in the game as well. And obviously, it just sucks sometimes to leave your friends like that that you made along the way. But at the end of the day, it’s a business and I want to do what I think is best for me, and I decided to want to join NRG. But, yeah, I’m wishing them the best. We’re all still good friends, stuff like that, so I wish they do good with Senzu.

Daniel: I do want to ask about nitr0 as well. You guys were like ships in the night on Liquid. You know, you come in as he leaves for the first time, then, you know, you come back in, and then as you come back, he leaves. What’s it like finally getting to play with a legend of NA CS so far?

Grim: I mean, it’s been great. We probably had less than 10 actual practices right now, but in those days, I’m just getting to know him. He’s an awesome guy, and I can definitely see why he’s been a staple character in the pro scene for as long as he has. He’s just very easy to mesh with. He’s very intelligent in the game, his mechanics are really good as well. And I just think he’s a good teammate to have. He’s not someone that gets mad in the rounds. He’s a guy to always keep the environment good, so it’s just a really good guy to have on your team.

Daniel: It was quite a tough start with this lineup. You know, three straight losses at ESL Pro League. What did you think just didn’t quite click for the team at that event?

Grim: I honestly didn’t think too much into it because with me, I had to play at that Roman cup with Passion right before that. So we only had four days of practice before that and all those teams that we played have been like pretty established for a while now. So honestly it was just kind of get getting to see where we’re at with like one day of practice per map. So it was like four days, you know, two maps a day. It wasn’t really too much to do. But you know, we reviewed those games and we had like around a week and a half in North America now to practice more and get stuff ironed out. So we’re definitely gonna show a better face here, I think.

Daniel: It’s been a few weeks since those Pro League matches. You said you’ve still had quite limited practice. What have you guys been working on in that time?

Grim: I’d say it’s just mainly about me getting implemented on how they like to play in the stratbook and that type of stuff. Knowing my role in the strats, or like, where I’m supposed to be, ironing out some roles. Because when I joined, they basically gave me most roles I wanted. I’d say I only swapped two roles. That means some players like br0, for example, has to move out of some spots he liked on some certain maps. And nitr0 also moved as well, so it’s just about people getting used to their roles, and me getting implemented on the stratbook and seeing how they like to play.

Daniel: Yeah, that was actually going to be my next question about the differences you’ve found in the new system, but you’ve covered it! You come to BLAST Open, you’ve got Falcons up first. They’re big names on paper, but obviously, quite a vulnerable team at the moment. What do you think you’ll need to do to upset the odds against them? I know we’ve just heard that kyousuke’s not going to be there.

Grim: I’d say the best thing we can do is not really give them too much respect. Obviously, they’re a great team, but we need to come in with confidence, believing we can beat them. Even though we’ve had not too much practice yet still, we haven’t really had a proper boot camp, but we need to come in believing 120% that we can take that game. I think if we start off strong, get the pistol and first gun rounds on some maps, we can definitely take the series. I think it’ll be okay.

Daniel: Final question – I’m interested about your level of expectation around the roster, not just at this event, but beyond. What would you consider to be, you know, just a good result for NRG at this BLAST Open? And what sort of expectations would you say you have for the team for the rest of 2026? Obviously, we’re very early days, where would you like to be?

Grim: Yeah, I’d say for this event, definitely making it to Rotterdam would be good. Obviously I don’t wanna look too far into the results yet. As I said, we haven’t had a proper Europe bootcamp yet. So until then, I just would like to at least get a win, see where we’re at, maybe get some VRS here. Go to the bootcamp, it’s like a 10-day bootcamp after this that we have, and then we should be in a very good spot for the next event, which will be PGL Bucharest. Then from there, I would like to at least maintain top-16, and be the best NA team on the VRS. Then, you know, make Playoffs every now and then, get better, and hopefully win an event by the end of the year.