Swedish esports organisation Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP) has unveiled its new Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) roster for the 2025 competitive season.
The team has gone through a major overhaul, with only Ukranian AWPer Artem ‘r1nkle’ Moroz remaining from last year’s roster.
He will be joined by Danish IGL Marco ‘Snappi’ Pfeiffer, support Rasmus ‘sjuush’ Beck, and Portuguese duo Rafael ‘arrozdoce’ Wing and Michel ‘ewjerkz’ Pinto.
Ninjas in Pyjamas recorded a disappointing 2024 season which culminated in failing to qualify for the CS2 Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 after the tiebreaker loss to Team Spirit. In December 2024, Ninjas in Pyjamas placed 49th in Valve’s Global Rankings.
The squad hopes to turn it around this year, with Snappi joining from Team Falcons and sjuush leaving HEROIC after four years.
In particular, Snappi is known for winning the IEM Dallas 2023 with ENCE while sjuush was a key member of HEROIC’s success during his tenure. This included a first-place finish in BLAST Premier Spring Final in 2023.
Arrozdoce and ewjerkz join NIP from Portuguese esports organisation SAW, which secured a top-four finish at IEM Cologne in 2024. However, this will be their first experience on an international roster.
Accoridng to NIP, the majority of the new squad will make its debut on January 16th in a match against AMKAL in the CCT Season 2 Europe Series 16 Closed Qualifier.
Founded in 2000, NIP is one of the most recognised esports brands in the European scene. Following a merger with digital sports group ESV5 and its IPO on the NASDAQ exchange in July 2024, the company now operates across Sweden, China, Abu Dhabi and Brazil, with rosters across Rainbow Six Siege, League of Legends, Apex Legends, Rocket League and MLBB. As of today, NIP is trading at a price of $7.19 (~£5.86) per share.
