{"id":34556,"date":"2026-02-28T21:48:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/?p=34556"},"modified":"2026-02-28T21:48:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:48:55","slug":"nrg-sign-grim-ahead-of-esl-pro-league-season-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/cs-2\/nrg-sign-grim-ahead-of-esl-pro-league-season-23\/","title":{"rendered":"NRG Sign Grim Ahead of ESL Pro League Season 23"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>North American organization <strong>NRG <\/strong>has officially signed Michael &#8220;<strong>Grim<\/strong>&#8221; Wince to its<a href=\"https:\/\/www.counter-strike.net\/?l=english\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.counter-strike.net\/?l=english\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <strong>Counter-Strike 2<\/strong><\/a> roster, reinforcing the lineup just ahead of its <a href=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/cs-2\/esl-pro-league-season-23-format-teams-schedule\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/cs-2\/esl-pro-league-season-23-format-teams-schedule\/\"><strong>ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1<\/strong> <\/a>campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The move was announced less than 24 hours before the team\u2019s opening match against <strong>HEROIC <\/strong>and comes nearly two weeks after reports first linked the American rifler with the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">To our North American Counter-Strike home&#8230; \ud83e\udd85<br><br>The Reaper is officially here to collect.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/1grimcs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@1grimcs<\/a> has joined NRG. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5Xo6uPWHk0\">pic.twitter.com\/5Xo6uPWHk0<\/a><\/p>&mdash; NRG CS2 (@nrgcs2) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nrgcs2\/status\/2027821120049619355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">February 28, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Grim Returns After Passion UA Bench Move<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/grima-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/grima-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/grima-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/grima-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/grima-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/grima-450x301.jpg 450w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/grima.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Michael &#8220;<strong>Grim<\/strong>&#8221; Wince<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Grim <\/strong>joins <strong>NRG <\/strong>shortly <a href=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/cs-2\/passion-ua-bench-grim\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/cs-2\/passion-ua-bench-grim\/\">after being benched by <strong>Passion UA<\/strong><\/a>, where he had been replaced following the signing of Mongolian player Azbayar &#8220;<strong>Senzu<\/strong>&#8221; Munkhbold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 25-year-old brings extensive experience, having spent the last four years playing alongside figures like Johnny &#8220;<strong>JT<\/strong>&#8221; Theodosiou and Tiaan &#8220;<strong>T.c<\/strong>&#8221; Coertzen across rosters such as <strong>Complexity <\/strong>and <strong>Passion UA<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His signing provides a quick return to competition following his removal from the Ukrainian organization\u2019s active lineup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Another 2026 Roster Change for NRG<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/oseo.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34558\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/oseo.jpg 800w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/oseo-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/oseo-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/oseo-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/oseo-450x253.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Josh &#8220;<strong>oSee<\/strong>&#8221; Ohm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Grim\u2019s <\/strong>addition marks <strong>NRG\u2019s <\/strong>second roster change of 2026. Earlier this year, the organization promoted Josh &#8220;<strong>oSee<\/strong>&#8221; Ohm to the starting lineup, replacing Zack &#8220;<strong>XotiC<\/strong>&#8221; Elshani ahead of the new season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While <strong>NRG <\/strong>did not initially specify which player <strong>Grim <\/strong>would replace, head coach Damian &#8220;<strong>daps<\/strong>&#8221; Steele confirmed in a podcast appearance that he would take the spot of Jeorge &#8220;<strong>Jeorge<\/strong>&#8221; Endicott, who moves to the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Updated NRG Roster<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the signing, NRG\u2019s <strong>CS2 <\/strong>lineup consists of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Josh &#8220;<strong>oSee<\/strong>&#8221; Ohm<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nick &#8220;<strong>nitr0<\/strong>&#8221; Cannella<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alexander &#8220;<strong>br0<\/strong>&#8221; Bro<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aran &#8220;<strong>Sonic<\/strong>&#8221; Groesbeek<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Michael &#8220;<strong>Grim<\/strong>&#8221; Wince<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Damian &#8220;<strong>daps<\/strong>&#8221; Steele (coach)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Grim\u2019s Arrival Means for NRG<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/eslpro-2-1024x576.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/eslpro-2-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/eslpro-2-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/eslpro-2-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/eslpro-2-150x84.webp 150w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/eslpro-2-450x253.webp 450w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/eslpro-2.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>ESL Pro League Season 23<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The signing signals <strong>NRG\u2019s <\/strong>continued effort to stabilize its roster and strengthen its position heading into <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pro.eslgaming.com\/csgo\/proleague\/#about\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/pro.eslgaming.com\/csgo\/proleague\/#about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESL Pro League Season 23<\/a><\/strong>. With Grim\u2019s experience across multiple international rosters, the move could provide additional firepower and consistency for the North American side as it aims to reestablish itself in top-tier <strong>Counter-Strike 2 <\/strong>competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>North American organization NRG has officially signed Michael &#8220;Grim&#8221; Wince to its Counter-Strike 2 roster, reinforcing the lineup just ahead of its ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1 campaign. The move was announced less than 24 hours before the team\u2019s opening match against HEROIC and comes nearly two weeks after reports first linked the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":34559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5,11,247],"class_list":{"0":"post-34556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cs-2","8":"tag-cs2","9":"tag-cs2-news","10":"tag-cs2-tournaments"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34561,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34556\/revisions\/34561"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}