Jessica S. July 14, 2020
Ninjas in Pyjamas, the Swedish esports organization best known for its legendary Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division, has revealed its new Valorant roster.
After signing Emir “RHYME” Muminovic, and Niels “luckeRRR” Jasiek in June, the organization completed its lineup by signing Charles “CREA” Beauvois, Damiel “HyP” Souville, and Enzo “Fearoth” Mestari, who will serve as captain. The newly signed trio had been competing in Valorant as HypHypHyp.
"Our ambition has and always will be to field a top-tier lineup. Our faith in the VALORANT scene and Riot’s plans for it remains strong and we’ll stop at nothing to get to the top spot...This squad has an extremely high skill ceiling, has already proven itself competitively, and fits very well into our vision for team chemistry and esports performance. I couldn’t be happier," NiP COO Jonas Gundersen said in a statement.
All five players with the exception of HyP are transitioning to Valorant from CSGO, with the biggest name being luckeRRR who played with BIG for a short time. HyP comes from professional Overwatch, where he played for the Paris Eternal before moving to Valorant earlier this year.
The organization initially entered into Valorant esports by transferring its Paladins roster to the game in April. Despite some respectable results early on, the team declined and was released in June. RHYME and luckeRRR were signed the following week.
NiP is among a slew of top esports organizations to invest in Valorant, with the list also including Cloud9, T1, Team Liquid, and many more.
Riot Games taking the slow road on Valorant Esports
Back in April, Riot put out an article explaining its approach to making Valorant its next esports title. Riot laid out its priorities including competitive integrity, accessibility, and authenticity.
While developers are “overwhelmed” by the interest and excitement behind Valorant as an esport, there will be no official Valorant leagues until Riot gets a more clear fix on where the game fits in the larger esports space. Until Riot starts making moves on this front, the company is facilitating the organization of third-party tournaments and an amateur scene where new stars can rise.
As for the new roster of Ninjas in Pyjamas, fans can see the new squad in action as early as July 15 in the WePlay! Valorant Invitational where the team will first play against forZe. The tournament has a $50,000 prize pool and concludes on July 19.