Emil Christensen
Encyclopedia
Emil Pathric William Christensen (born 14 June 1984 in Stockholm
), alias HeatoN, is a former Swedish
professional Counter-Strike
player, formerly playing as captain of the gaming team Ninjas in Pyjamas
(NiP). He is widely considered as one of the best Counter-Strike players of all time.
The name HeatoN comes from a brand of equipment he used when he played ice hockey
.
Christensen was part of the original Ninjas in Pyjamas team of 2001 which won the Cyberathlete Professional League
World Championship that year. He and the other members of Ninjas in Pyjamas went on to become the foundation to the highly successful SK Sweden
, one of the most successful teams in electronic sports
history. Christensen led SK Gaming to the World Cyber Games
Counter-Strike championship in 2003 and to 4th place in 2004.
Christensen was nominated for Best Counter-Strike Player of the Year in 2004, losing out to SK Gaming teammate, Tommy "Potti" Ingemarsson. He was selected for the Global Gaming League European Counter-Strike All-Star team in 2005.
At the beginning of 2005 he and the rest of SK Sweden chose not to renew their contracts with SK Gaming and re-formed NiP. Since then some of the NiP players moved back to SK Gaming but Christensen and others have stayed on at Ninjas in Pyjamas. NiP are now competing at professional LAN tournaments again, after a hiatus in which SpawN joined after HeatoN decided to take time off for personal reasons.
Christensen, along with the other members of Ninjas in Pyjamas, assisted in the design of the SteelSound 5H (USB) Headphones produced by SteelSeries
.
In December 2006 he traveled to New York and Dallas to provide support for his teammates as they competed in the WSVG world finals and CPL winter respectively. NiP were expected to be strong contenders in both tournaments, however bowed out uncharacteristically early.
In September 2007 HeatoN quit playing Counter-Strike to be coach of NiP but was then offered a chance to be a general manager for Stockholm in the CGS, NiP has now fallen apart due to the CEO having nothing to do with NiP and failing to pay players, renew contracts. HeatoNs CGS franchise is called the Stockholm Magnetik and has a Counter-Strike: Source
team, Dead or Alive 4
players, one male, one female, a FIFA 08
player and two Forza Motorsport 2
players to represent him and his franchise.
After the CGS's collapse in late 2008 Christensen moved to promote a hardware company named Qpad, from his native country Sweden, for the first part of 2009. Later in the year however, he left Qpad to join with his former teammate Abdisamad Mohamed in product development at ZOWIE GEAR which is a manufacturer of competitive gaming gear, founded late 2008. In July 2010, ZOWIE GEAR announced HeatoN's series of mics co-developed by himself.
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
), alias HeatoN, is a former Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
professional Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
player, formerly playing as captain of the gaming team Ninjas in Pyjamas
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Ninjas in Pyjamas was a professional Counter-Strike clan based in Sweden. They were considered to be one of the top teams in the world by many, including GotFrag.-2000 - 2002:...
(NiP). He is widely considered as one of the best Counter-Strike players of all time.
The name HeatoN comes from a brand of equipment he used when he played ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
.
Career
Emil's first hobby was ice hockey, but he retired because of injury. A friend (CS player Brodeur, from UnderFire Gaming) told him to try Counter-Strike.Christensen was part of the original Ninjas in Pyjamas team of 2001 which won the Cyberathlete Professional League
Cyberathlete Professional League
The Cyberathlete Professional League , founded on June 27, 1997 by gaming entrepreneur Angel Munoz, is a professional sports tournament organization specializing in computer and console video game competitions....
World Championship that year. He and the other members of Ninjas in Pyjamas went on to become the foundation to the highly successful SK Sweden
SK Gaming
SK Gaming is a professional German electronic sports organization founded in 1997 by a small group of Quake players living in Oberhausen. SK Gaming retains teams across different genres and are particularly known for their success in Counter-Strike tournaments...
, one of the most successful teams in electronic sports
Electronic sports
Electronic sports comprises the competitive play of video games. Other terms include competitive gaming, professional gaming and cybersports...
history. Christensen led SK Gaming to the World Cyber Games
World Cyber Games
The World Cyber Games is an international competitive video-gaming event operated by South Korean company World Cyber Games Inc., and sponsored by Samsung and Microsoft...
Counter-Strike championship in 2003 and to 4th place in 2004.
Christensen was nominated for Best Counter-Strike Player of the Year in 2004, losing out to SK Gaming teammate, Tommy "Potti" Ingemarsson. He was selected for the Global Gaming League European Counter-Strike All-Star team in 2005.
At the beginning of 2005 he and the rest of SK Sweden chose not to renew their contracts with SK Gaming and re-formed NiP. Since then some of the NiP players moved back to SK Gaming but Christensen and others have stayed on at Ninjas in Pyjamas. NiP are now competing at professional LAN tournaments again, after a hiatus in which SpawN joined after HeatoN decided to take time off for personal reasons.
Christensen, along with the other members of Ninjas in Pyjamas, assisted in the design of the SteelSound 5H (USB) Headphones produced by SteelSeries
SteelSeries
SteelSeries is a Danish manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories, including headsets, keyboards, mice, gaming surfaces and software. SteelSeries has historically helped sponsor the growth of competitive gaming and electronic sports through professional team sponsorships and community...
.
In December 2006 he traveled to New York and Dallas to provide support for his teammates as they competed in the WSVG world finals and CPL winter respectively. NiP were expected to be strong contenders in both tournaments, however bowed out uncharacteristically early.
In September 2007 HeatoN quit playing Counter-Strike to be coach of NiP but was then offered a chance to be a general manager for Stockholm in the CGS, NiP has now fallen apart due to the CEO having nothing to do with NiP and failing to pay players, renew contracts. HeatoNs CGS franchise is called the Stockholm Magnetik and has a Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike: Source is an FPS video game developed by Valve Corporation. It is a complete remake of Counter-Strike using the Source game engine. As in the original, Counter-Strike: Source pits a team of counter-terrorists against a team of terrorists in a series of rounds...
team, Dead or Alive 4
Dead or Alive 4
Dead or Alive 4 has received generally positive reviews. IGN gave the game 9.0/10, calling it "a move in the right direction for the series", and praised the fighting system as "deeper and more sophisticated". GameSpot awarded the game a score of 8.8/10, with one of its only negative comments going...
players, one male, one female, a FIFA 08
FIFA 08
FIFA 08 is the 2008 installment of EA Sports' series of football video games. Developed by EA Canada, it is published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released on all popular gaming formats in September 2007 in Europe, Australia, and Asia, and in October 2007 in North...
player and two Forza Motorsport 2
Forza Motorsport 2
Forza Motorsport 2 is a racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios for the Xbox 360 console. It is the second title in the Forza Motorsport series, and is the sequel to the original Forza Motorsport and is followed by Forza Motorsport 3 .The box art features a tuned Nissan 350Z...
players to represent him and his franchise.
After the CGS's collapse in late 2008 Christensen moved to promote a hardware company named Qpad, from his native country Sweden, for the first part of 2009. Later in the year however, he left Qpad to join with his former teammate Abdisamad Mohamed in product development at ZOWIE GEAR which is a manufacturer of competitive gaming gear, founded late 2008. In July 2010, ZOWIE GEAR announced HeatoN's series of mics co-developed by himself.
Professional teams
Christensen has played professionally with the following teams:- 2001–2002: Ninjas in PyjamasNinjas in PyjamasNinjas in Pyjamas was a professional Counter-Strike clan based in Sweden. They were considered to be one of the top teams in the world by many, including GotFrag.-2000 - 2002:...
- 2002–2004: SK GamingSK GamingSK Gaming is a professional German electronic sports organization founded in 1997 by a small group of Quake players living in Oberhausen. SK Gaming retains teams across different genres and are particularly known for their success in Counter-Strike tournaments...
- 2005–2007: Ninjas in Pyjamas
- 2007–2007 September: Ninjas in Pyjamas (coach)
- 2007–2008: Stockholm Magnetik General Manager
- 2008–2009: TEAMAMERICA Head Coach
External links
- Christensen interviewed before (by Fragbite) and after (By NiP-Gaming.com) the Championship Gaming Invitational event in San Francisco
- Stockholm Magnetik where HeatoN is General Manager