Yet another major esports organisation has entered the LATAM playground, this time in the form of Ninjas in Pajamas (NiP) who earlier announced their acquisition the roster of Black Dragons. On the 10th June, Kamikaze had announced on twitter that the roster had parted ways with Black Dragons. Psycho had also written a Twitlonger to thank all their fans and called for them to continue to support the org.
thttps://twitter.com/NiPGaming/status/1006249712515772417s://twitter.com/NiPGaming/status/1006249712515772417 NiP picking up Black Dragons comes as no surprise after the team's performance during Season 6, in which they made it to the Grand Finals and ended up taking 2nd place after a 0-2 loss to ENCE. The team also had an excellent run during the 2018 Six Invitational. Black Dragons placed top of their group which consisted of teams like Vitality (known as Supremacy at the time), YeaH! Gaming (now looking for org), and CLG. During the quarterfinals, they also beat Mindfreak by 2 maps to 0, before being knocked out in the semi-finals by the eventual champions PENTA Sports. Julio, captain of the team, was overjoyed with the announcement:
“We're going to give it our all to make our fans and organization proud. As you can tell I'm very excited to play for an organisation like Ninjas in Pyjamas and I can't wait to win the first trophy under this tag!”
Ninjas in Pyjamas are one of the longest standing names within esports. They were founded in Sweden in 2000 by Emil Christensen and are most commonly known for their Counter-Strike team. The org can also boast about being the first professional esports brand to launch their very own gaming peripheral company known as Xtify. NiP also work with the Swedish government in educating people about the esports industry. The org has been a Major Finalist 5 times, received 2 Industry awards and employs over 40 people. The founder Emil Christensen was also the first member to be inducted into the Esports Hall of Fame in July 2016. With NiP being the latest major org to enter the LATAM joining the likes of FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, and Immortals it begs the question, what will be the next big org in LATAM? With the exit of CLG from NA, it is possible we could see them approach a team from this region, given the large fan base even for teams not on the level of FaZe or Liquid. However, only time will tell as to what happens. Regardless, it is an exciting time for LATAM fans, and we look forward to seeing NiP in Siege. The NiP roster is: João "Kamikaze" Gomes Gustavo "Psycho" Rigal Pedro "Pzd" Dutra Julio "Julio" Giacomell Wagner "Wag" Alfaro Marlon "Twister" Mello (Coach) Andre "Absurdo" Cardoso (Manager)