New NiP jersey for The International 2019 draws ire from fans

Esports organization Ninjas in Pyjamas has been the talk of the community for the past few days, and not for any good reasons. This time, it’s the organization’s new Dota 2 jersey that fans are laughing about.

With The International 2019 coming soon, NiP has created a new jersey for its Dota 2 players. And while the design was supposed to represent a storm of fans’ energy and excitement incorporated into TI9’s color scheme, the end product is far from any of that.

Rather, fans find the smoky design to look more like a coffee stain, a spilled bottle of bleach, or something even worse. Many feel the idea could’ve been executed in a much better way. For example, if the bottom part of the jersey was fully covered with the smoke design, instead of just a small portion in the front, it wouldn’t look as much like a stain as it currently does.

For NiP’s fans, there is no justification for the jersey’s design.

The designer of the jersey, Laura Rojas, stated the jersey ended up looking much different than what she had initially imagined. This is allegedly due to demanding sponsorship placements that she was made to adhere to.

She has also added that the fan’s negative reaction was due to a 3D model of the jersey which cannot properly represent the real look and feel of a jersey. She feels sorry that fans have had such negative feedback to the design as she speaks to having had the best intentions in designing it.

Although Laura took it upon herself to apologize to NiP’s fans, she’s probably not the one who should be receiving fans’ ire. The design had to be approved by the organization itself, and NiP seem to have liked it well enough to present it to the public.

NiP continues to attract negative attention to itself. Not only have they entirely missed what their fans would like to see out of a new Dota 2 jersey, but they are also under attack by ex-players and the community for unethical behaviors of the past.