It's finally time to bring in the favorites heading into ESWC 2012, Ninjas in Pyjamas. Representing them is newly appointed in-game leader Richard "Xizt" Landström.

NiP have not only been the most hyped up team in CS:GO's short history so far, but they are also the most successful, having already won both SteelSeries Go and DreamHack Valencia on LAN, as well as various online tournaments including a Go4CSGO Cup and the Nordic ESWC Qualifier.

Read below to find out what Landström, who returned to his role as an in-game leader despite enjoying success with Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson leading the troops, just in time for ESWC.

How have you prepared for ESWC 2012? Have you bootcamped or only practiced online? Do you feel ready for the competition?

We've prepared as much as possible. Although - we didn't feel the need to take a break after Dreamhack Valencia, we felt since its a new game we should be prepared for new challenges and play as much as possible! We'll also be bootcamping in Stockholm 4 days before the tournament to ensure all practice is perfected!

How many hours have you played CS:GO overall? How about your teammates?

At the moment I have around 350hrs. I'm not entirely sure about my teammates, but I can tell you they never stop letting me know how little my hours are compared with theirs.

What are you thoughts on CS:GO? What do you like and dislike? If you could change one thing, what would it be?

I like the game alot! I'm not entirely keen on molotovs though, I feel like they are extremely overpowered once you learn the basics around them. Most maps get very CT-sided to an extent and we would definitely prefer playing without them.

What do you expect from ESWC 2012? If your life depended on guessing your final placing, what would you guess?

I believe us Swedes got what it takes to bring home the gold! It might not be easy but it'll be one heck of a challenge. There's also alot of great teams from both the old platforms (1.6/CS:S) attending so we don't know a whole lot. It's still anyone's game and anything can happen!

Xizt has resumed duties as an in-game leader in NiP 

What can you tell us about your competition based on seeing them play and practicing against them? Who do you consider the strongest three teams going into the event?

It's too early to say because we haven't gotten around to practicing against any teams attending, lately everyone seems to be dodging us at practice times. If VeryGames manage to qualify I definitely think they will once again be the strongest opponents present. Also, you can never really count out the amazing Polish guys in ESC - you could beat them online but when you're playing them on LAN they're an extraordinary different team.

Can you talk about your teammates and explain to our readers what everyone's role on the team is in-game?

Okay so we have the infamous GeT_RiGhT who is the teams "lurker", we usually let him do what he wants because he's always winning the late round game for us. Then we have our runner friberg who is our entry fragger, I seriously don't know anyone who can press "W" and still frag like a boss. After him we have the Pistol King Fifflaren who is also our main AWPer, he also helps me alot with the tactics etc. Then we have our all around player who just doesn't have the words to sum up how great he does everything but, we like to call him f0rest. Then you have me, the ingame leader trying to pick up what my teammates left behind while I lead the team to a promised victory!

Many say CS:S players had an advantage in switching to CS:GO, do you agree? Has the game been out long enough for it to even out?

Considering the maps are similiar to Source, and we are playing on the Source engine, yes I agree they had an advantage at the beginning but not anymore.

Will NiP end up lifting the first place check in Paris as well? 

Do you believe it is necessary or advantageous to mix players from different games, or do you think it does not help?

I believe as a team we have learned alot of different things from each other. I think its a perfect advantage coming from two different platforms of the game.

With CS:GO still being a relatively new game, do you believe simply playing more hours still gives players a clear advantage?

It really just differs from player to player. Some people have to play more to grasp the aspect of a new game and keep up to speed. Otherwise you have those players who have godly talent for gaming in general and snap into it very quickly.

You are the heavy favorites going into ESWC 2012, having only lost one match so far in CS:GO. What happened versus SY_b, and how confident are you that it will not happen again in Paris?

I'd like to think that match was a very good "wake up call" for all of us not to get ahead of ourselves and underestimate anyone. We entered the match with the wrong mindset and shouldn't have played the qualifier to begin with. They played a very good game, though - I don't think its fair to dig deep into an online match. All the real stuff happens on LANs.

Are you at all worried about perhaps being the first team that has been actually studied in terms of playing style in time for ESWC? You are the most hyped up and high profile team in the game, which has allowed many others to keep hiding from the limelights.

Considering there aren't any demos available, I don't believe its possible to anti-strat as much. I also would like to think we have a random play style that contributes as a variable. It's kind of hard to predict what we will do most of the time. GeT_RiGhT and f0rest have alot of previous experience from being in top tier teams so we know what is needed to stay up there in the ranks.

We still have a couple of pre-ESWC interviews to go, so stay tuned to HLTV.org for more coverage including a team preview leading up to the first major event in CS:GO's history, ESWC 2012.