Ninjas in Pyjamas once again step into the Dota 2 arena with an exciting team of veterans...
Ninjas in Pyjamas had a jam-packed year of excitement in 2016.
There were highs and lows for the Counter Strike titans, and this year is set to be every bit as unpredictable.
As proud sponsors of these eSports giants, we’re ecstatic that the organisation is branching out once more, picking up ambitious and talented players to represent this iconic brand in Dota 2.
Eager to continue their expansion as a multi-game organisation, NiP have recruited a new roster ready to compete at the upcoming Kiev Major.
This isn’t their first assault on the game though.
The organisation’s Dota 2 division picked up a roster for most of 2015, featuring former Fnatic carry, Era, plus Apemother, jonassomfan, Sealkid and Handsken.
All of whom had a history playing Heroes of Newerth.
Unfortunately, after mixed results and an inability to qualify for the Frankfurt Major, the team was disbanded.
However, there’s a strong feeling that, this time around, NiP will enjoy more success. Why? Two crucial reasons: experience and talent.
The new line-up is largely a spiritual successor to the late Escape gaming who, after losing KheZu to Team Secret and YapzOr who formed B)ears, decided against renewing the remaining players’ contracts.
There’s no doubt this new line-up features some real talent but, just as importantly, these are players with real experience of the pro scene under their belts.
So who are our new ninjas? First up is Adrian ‘Era’ Kryeziu.
This is less of a ‘welcome’ and more of a ‘welcome back’ type scenario.
It will be helpful to have a carry already familiar with NiP as an organisation, and Era’s experience playing for other big teams such as Fnatic and Escape Gaming will no doubt be advantageous.
Bringing even more experience to the team will be Max ‘qojqva’ Brocker, the designated midlaner.
Having been present at The International twice, qojqva has played at the very pinnacle of the game, and has enjoyed success under the banner of both Team Liquid and mousesports.
Next up is the self-styled ‘semi support’ Kai ‘H4nn1’ Handbuckers.
At 27, H4nn1 can also boast impressive experience, having been an integral part of Fnatic’s Dota squad for years. H4nn1 is the only player not from the old Escape Gaming line-up.
Kalle ‘Trixi’ Saarinen will be the team’s offlaner. Like H4nn1, Trixi has spent a lot of his career with Fnatic, and has played in dozens of tournaments.
He had a pretty successful 2016, and stepped in as a temporary instalment at Escape Gaming late last year.
Finally, jumping aboard as team captain, we have Troels ‘syndereN’ Nielson.
A Danish Support, syndereN is a high profile player with experience of both playing and casting. This includes having been at TI in both a competing and casting capacity.
Clearly this is a ready-made veteran team, with three of the five players aged 27.
Four of the five have been playing together in Escape Gaming, and will already have decent synergy.
This should allow them to assimilate H4nn1’s talents without any trouble, especially as H4nn1 will have already worked a lot with Trixi while at Fnatic.
For fans of NiP, this is an exciting start for the team. But what really are NiP’s prospects in Dota 2?
A prudent place to start would be to look at the successes of former Escape Gaming who showed much potential in 2016.
Their biggest achievements were making it to the stage of TI6, as well as placing second at the DreamLeague finals.
It’s also interesting to note that this team represents a semi-revival of a past Fnatic line-up that was very successful and popular with fans.
That’s surely a good foundation from which to launch NiP’s next foray into Dota 2.
