posted by SmittyW.,
This roster shuffle hasn't borne any fruit for ppd and his team-mates as yet. First, they failed to make it through the Chengdu 2019: Europe Qualifier, then they only managed to finish 7th-8th place at ESL One Hamburg 2019. Most recently, they dropped out of the American qualifier for the DreamLeague Season 13: The Leipzig Major.
Finally, their dreams to qualify for the second Major were crushed at the WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020, where they didn't even win a single map. Now, NiP have drawn their conclusions and part ways with Gunnar.
NiP come back to Europe
In their statement, NiP thank Gunnar for their commitment. However, the results of the last months have been fairly disappointing. Besides replacing Gunnar, the organisation is determined to move back to Europe. ppd states:
By relocating to Europe we will practice consistently against the best teams in EU & CIS and focus on gradual improvement rather than rushing all of our practice in a 1-week boot camp before a qualifier or LAN."
NiP long-term strategy seems to be to improve in the European region which offers a harder training ground for the new team. As NiP haven't played any Majors, it is going to get increasingly more difficult to qualify for TI10 eventually.
Either they manage to stage an upset at one of the upcoming Majors, or they hope to qualify for a wildcard spot, shortly before TI with their updated roster.
Photo credit: Ninjas in Pyjamas
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