xKacpersky on NIP stint: “Right now we’re on the right direction to make good progress”

xKacpersky is widely regarded as one of the best young CS2 players in the world. Currently playing for Ninjas in Pyjamas, Tier 1 opportunities have been limited for xKacpersky and his team. However, they come to BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 with a point to prove, awaiting a tough Group B opener against PARIVISION.

Ahead of the tournament start, we got the opportunity to chat with xKacpersky to get his views on his time with the team so far, expectations for the future, and his thoughts on the event ahead.

xKacpersky: “[Anubis] is still T-sided, but CT has a bit more of a chance”

Daniel Morris: You guys come to this tournament on the back of a win at Roman Imperium in Portugal. Just how important are these kinds of wins to build the momentum at bigger events?

Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara: I mean it’s for sure like good confidence for us coming with winning the last tournament and also some VRS boost for the Major. We come pretty confident here.

Daniel: You’ve obviously been with NIP for around eight months now. How do you think your time with the team has gone so far and how do you think you’ve developed as a player? 

xKacpersky: I think there was like a lot of good times, also some bad times, like bad results. But I think right now we’re on the right direction to make good progress and I think I developed a lot during my time here.

Daniel: We saw cairne come into NIP in January. Just how has he meshed with the rest of the team, and what do you think he’s been able to bring to the team so far?

xKacpersky: I think he’s a really good player. So he for sure brings us some firepower and some initiative in the game.

Daniel: You’ve been on the VRS grind, going to a few smaller LANs like Roman Imperium, and you’ve got Stake Ranked coming up in Spain, I believe. What are the biggest differences you notice in those kinds of LANs when you compare them to events like BLAST Open and bigger LANs?

xKacpersky: It’s for sure different. Like here we have like prac rooms we can play, and on this, we just come to play the like official game. Then we go back hotel and chill before the next official. So like it’s a big difference. We can prepare more in this time.

Daniel: I wanted to actually get your take on the new Anubis. We’ve had it in the pool for a few months now. You guys have played it six times in officials, I believe, winning three. How are you finding the changes on it now that you’ve had some time to play with it?

xKacpersky: I mean I think it’s better. It gives CTs a better chance to win some round on CT side. Before it was T-sided, but I think it’s more… still T-sided, but CT has a bit more of a chance. So it’s a good change.

Daniel: You guys come into BLAST Open and you come up against PARIVISION. Obviously they’ve had a good amount of success so far this year. What kind of match are you expecting coming up against a Jame team?

xKacpersky: I mean, it’s for sure going to be hard playing against them. They’re a very good team in punishing our mistakes. We’ll just try our best to get to them.

Daniel: Have you had the chance to do much prep for the game? Have you seen anything about the way that they play that you can maybe exploit?

xKacpersky: I mean, I didn’t do it, but we’re going to do for sure before the game.

Daniel: You find yourself in quite a stacked Group B at BLAST Open. You know, you’ve got the likes of PARIVISION, Spirit, MOUZ, Vitality. Does that change your expectations for the event at all? What are your expectations and hopes coming into this tournament?

xKacpersky: We don’t really have some expectations. We’re just going to take it game by game, but I hope we can qualify for the Playoffs. We’re just going to take it game by game, no matter who we play.