Ninjas In Pyjamas
Ninjas In Pyjamas
Inactive
have signed former
Keyd Stars
Keyd Stars
Inactive
players Gabriel "v1xen"
Martins and Jonathan "JhoW"
Glória as player and coach to finalize their roster.
Following their entry into the Brazilian scene at the start of 2022's VCT, NIP breezed through the closed qualifiers and group stage of Brazil's Stage 1: Challengers. Eager to qualify for Masters: Reykjavik in the playoffs, NIP took a win over
FURIA
FURIA
Brazil
Rank #5
mwzera
Leonardo Serrati
havoc
Ilan Eloy
Khalil
Khalil Schmidt
in the upper semifinals, but lost against
LOUD
LOUD
Brazil
Rank #2
dgzin
Douglas Silva
v1nny
Vínicius Gonçalves
pANcada
Bryan Luna
tuyz
Arthur Andrade
cauanzin
Cauan Pereira
in the upper final, sending them to the lower bracket.
Despite defeating Keyd Stars in the lower bracket final, the team was unable to win their rematch against LOUD in the grand final and were sent to the LATAM/BR LCQ, where they would face
LEVIATÁN
LEVIATÁN
Latin America South
Rank #1
Demon1
Max Mazanov
tex
Ian Botsch
kiNgg
Francisco Aravena
C0M
Corbin Lee
in their last chance at qualifying for Reykjavik. The ninjas refused to buckle under pressure as they booked their ticket to Iceland by defeating the opponents without dropping a map.
Entering the group stage of Masters: Reykjavik, NIP found themselves matched up against
DRX
DRX
Korea
Rank #4
Flashback
Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁)
MaKo
Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관)
Athan
Na Ha-jun (나하준)
freeing
No Ha-jun (노하준)
HYUNMIN
Song Hyun-min (송현민)
,
ZETA DIVISION
ZETA DIVISION
Japan
Rank #2
Dep
Yuma Hashimoto
SugarZ3ro
Shota Watanabe
CLZ
Hikaru Mizutani
SyouTa
Shota Aoki
Xdll
Yuto Mizomori
, and
FNATIC
FNATIC
Europe
Rank #3
Sayonara
Ștefan Mîtcu
stand-in
Boaster
Jake Howlett
kaajak
Kajetan Haremski
Chronicle
Timofey Khromov
Alfajer
Emir Ali Beder
. Despite being favored by many to lose against the European powerhouse, NIP triumphed over their opponents in convincing fashion. One match away from qualifying into the playoffs, the team faced DRX in Group A's winner match, but were defeated in 2-0 fashion, sending them to meet ZETA DIVISION in the decider match.
The ninjas once again refused to give in to the pressure of facing elimination, but were unable to replicate their previous success as they fell to their Japanese adversaries in a three-map series, eliminating them from their first international tournament.
Nearly two weeks later, NIP made changes to their roster by benching bnj and releasing coaches Rogerio "RoY" Lopez and Vinícius "fluyr" Menegatti prior to the group stage of Brazil Stage 2: Challengers 1. Left with a vacant position on the active roster and no coach, the organization looked in the direction of JhoW and v1xen, who were both moved to the bench of Keyd Stars following their exit from Stage 1 Challengers Brazil in March.
NIP's first match following their return from Reykjavik will be in the group stage of Brazil's Stage 2: Challengers, beginning next weekend on May 14.
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