Counter-Strike 2
JACKZ leaves NIP after wildcard eligibility expires
Audric "JACKZ" Jug will no longer stand in for Ninjas in Pyjamas after the team's eligibility for wildcard invites expired.
Via JACKZ's one tournament for Vitality, the Ninjas could accept wildcard invites based on having a core of three players — Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer with Falcons, Rasmus "sjuush" Beck with HEROIC, and JACKZ with Vitality — who were in the top eight of Valve's Global Standings over the last twelve months.
Snappi was last in the top eight on March 3, 2024, but recent rule changes that turned the period of time players must be in the top eight from 12 to 6 months mean NIP were already illegible for invites as of February 25.
JACKZ played five CCT closed qualifiers with Ninjas in Pyjamas but the team failed to progress in any of the tournaments he stood in for Rafael "arrozdoce" Wing and had a losing record (6-8) in matches.
"I'm disappointed not to have achieved a better result with the guys," JACKZ said on X. "The reality is that with zero practice together, it’s hard to truly adapt to a system and be in sync in all phases of the game."
Ninjas in Pyjamas sit at number 158 on the Valve Global Standings, far from the rankings that would give them regular invites to tournaments.
The organization were one of 22 teams that signed an open letter criticizing Valve's approach to the 2025 ecosystem earlier this month, pointing to a scene that they believe is overly reliant on invitations directly from the ranking.
Notoriously difficult online qualifiers are now the only Counter-Strike available to NIP, as they look to climb the ranking and validate their decision to start 2025 with a new, unranked, core.
Next up for the team is the PGL Bucharest closed qualifier, a berth they secured by winning the first open qualifier.
Ninjas in Pyjamas' roster is:
Denmark - Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer
Denmark - Rasmus "sjuush" Beck
Ukraine - Artem "r1nkle" Moroz
Portugal - Michel "ewjerkz" Pinto
Portugal - Rafael "arrozdoce" Wing
Sweden - Richard "Xizt" Landström (coach)
South Africa - Gareth "MisteM" Ries (benched)
Denmark - Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke (benched)
Via JACKZ's one tournament for Vitality, the Ninjas could accept wildcard invites based on having a core of three players — Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer with Falcons, Rasmus "sjuush" Beck with HEROIC, and JACKZ with Vitality — who were in the top eight of Valve's Global Standings over the last twelve months.
Snappi was last in the top eight on March 3, 2024, but recent rule changes that turned the period of time players must be in the top eight from 12 to 6 months mean NIP were already illegible for invites as of February 25.
JACKZ played five CCT closed qualifiers with Ninjas in Pyjamas but the team failed to progress in any of the tournaments he stood in for Rafael "arrozdoce" Wing and had a losing record (6-8) in matches.
"I'm disappointed not to have achieved a better result with the guys," JACKZ said on X. "The reality is that with zero practice together, it’s hard to truly adapt to a system and be in sync in all phases of the game."
Ninjas in Pyjamas sit at number 158 on the Valve Global Standings, far from the rankings that would give them regular invites to tournaments.
The organization were one of 22 teams that signed an open letter criticizing Valve's approach to the 2025 ecosystem earlier this month, pointing to a scene that they believe is overly reliant on invitations directly from the ranking.
Notoriously difficult online qualifiers are now the only Counter-Strike available to NIP, as they look to climb the ranking and validate their decision to start 2025 with a new, unranked, core.
Next up for the team is the PGL Bucharest closed qualifier, a berth they secured by winning the first open qualifier.
Ninjas in Pyjamas' roster is:
Denmark - Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer
Denmark - Rasmus "sjuush" Beck
Ukraine - Artem "r1nkle" Moroz
Portugal - Michel "ewjerkz" Pinto
Portugal - Rafael "arrozdoce" Wing
Sweden - Richard "Xizt" Landström (coach)
South Africa - Gareth "MisteM" Ries (benched)
Denmark - Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke (benched)
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