Ninjas In Pyjamas Bids Temporary Farewell To Dota 2

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges to the esports community, and Dota 2 is one of the heavily affected communities. As esports leagues shift to an online format alongside the many betting sites that bring us Dota 2 odds, professional teams struggle to adapt to changes. The ‘new normal’ in esports has changed the environment they live in.

Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) is the latest team to announce their temporary withdrawal from the Dota 2 competitive scene due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is already the third time NiP decided to leave the Dota 2 scene in the history of the organization.

“This year has taken a massive toll on what was already an unstable ecosystem. With the indefinite postponement of the DPC and The International, we find ourselves on an increasingly unclear path to financial stability within the game. We’re seeing a high concentration of talent in the EU region, meaning that the cost of keeping up is markedly higher while revenues are dwindling,” said NiP COO Jonas Gundersen in a statement published on the team’s website.

Although temporary, the organization’s decision negatively affected NiP’s fans and players. The team’s active and final roster is still competing in EPIC League Division 2, where they secured a 5-4 record that could lead to a spot in the playoffs. The team has yet to confirm whether or not they will continue to compete in the league after the group stage.

The organization’s final Dota 2 roster included the following players:

• Charlie “CharlieDota” Arat
• Ondřej “Supream^” Štarha
• Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek
• Adrian “Era” Kryeziu
• Mikhail “Misha” Agatov

NiP’s comeback is possible since Gundersen emphasized that their withdrawal is only temporary and the organization plans to “rethink strategy and regional presence completely”. NiP has gone in and out of the Dota 2 competitive scene on many occasions over the last six years. The organization first entered the game in 2015, left the scene, and entered again in 2017.

NiP’s recent roster has graced the stages of Hamburg, Birmingham, Stockholm, Shanghai, and other international stages. Generally, they had a poor 2020 run. The team got off to a good start in the ESL One Los Angeles Major, but the transition from live events to online leagues became a problem to its interregional Dota 2 roster.