Ninjas in Pyjamas re-sign ex-Paladins roster to compete in VALORANT

Ninjas in Pyjamas, an organization widely recognized worldwide mainly for its success on the Counter-Strike scene, has announced today its entrance to the VALORANT esports scene. The decision might come as a surprise since NiP, as one of the biggest esports organizations, decided to invest in a team to compete in the brand new Riot Games’ title with their ex-Paladins squad rather than go for CS:GO players who would probably be much more familiar with VALORANT’s setup. The roster has represented NiP previously for around two years in Paladins so confidence and trust between the players and the organization might be a factor for this choice.

“VALORANT is undoubtedly one of the most exciting titles in recent years, and it’s been clear to us from the beginning that it’s a game we would like to be heavily involved in. Riot have some great ideas on how to evolve the community and esports specifically, and we’re very excited to have an integral part in shaping that with them,” comments Jonas Gundersen the COO of Ninjas in Pyjamas in the official announcement.

NiP signed the Paladins roster back in September 2017 with the introduction of the Paladins Premier League (PPL). At that moment the players were considered as one of the best in the world since some of them had already the Champion title on the record. In 2018 the team has decided to do some changes in the original roster and has built another lineup around the core members - Erik “Bird” Sjösten and Malkolm “bonkar” Rench. NiP has earned a lot of positive reactions by signing an Australian player, Dylan “DiGeDoG” Chainski, who even though was a part of the most powerful squad in the Oceanic region, was not eligible to participate in the PPL with his team. He moved to Sweden and started to play together with his new squad.

At the beginning of 2019, Ninjas in Pyjamas has revealed two new additions to the lineup: a former FNATIC player, Leander “isbittenner” Aspestrand and ex-mousesports competitor Aleks “Alex” Suchev. After these changes, Ninjas in Pyjamas managed to lift the trophy in November during the Paladins World Championship 2019 which also marked the end of the Paladins Premier League franchise. Shortly after that in December, NiP announced the disband of their roster and their exit from the Paladins scene.

It’s been only a few months since they were gone and now these familiar faces are returning to NiP to once again represent them in another game. However, this time Erik “Bird” Sjösten will take the role of the Head Coach which leaves an open door for all of the players who want to compete in VALORANT. NiP is currently searching for the fifth player to complete the roster.

Jonas Gundersen continues to explain the reasons behind this decision in the official announcement: “Assembling a roster in a newly released game is an exciting challenge. You never quite know how the game will play out and have to make some educated guesses as to what skillset translates best into high performance in a game like VALORANT. So with that, re-signing our old Paladins roster is one of the greatest things I could imagine. They are two-time World Championship winners, have experience in MOBAs and raw skill from FPS backgrounds paired up with perfect team synergy and chemistry. Their desire to work hard, learn fast and become the best in this new game is unrivaled from what I've seen in a long time. I have very high hopes for the future and for NiP as a leading organization within the VALORANT ecosystem.”

Without a doubt Ninjas in Pyjamas might start a wave of the next big esports organizations following their steps and entering the VALORANT scene very soon. However, will the others decide to re-sign their former players to give them one more chance to compete in a new game or will they rather try to scout some young talents in the early day of the VALORANT beta? It will be just a matter of time to get to know the answer.

Ninjas in Pyjamas current roster:

Malkolm “bonkar” Rench Dylan “DiGeDoG” Chainski Leander “isbittenner” Aspestrand Aleks "Alex" Suchev

Erik “Bird” Sjösten (Coach)