Just recently, Ninjas in Pyjamas announced a huge roster change, with three of the five members stepping down to a substitute position. Top laner NeeGodBro, Jungler Svenskeren, and AD Carry TheTess are out. Taking up their positions respectively are extinkt, Malunoo, and Freeze from Heimerdinger's Colossi. These replacements should be familiar to anyone to has followed the European LCS for quite some time. Two of them were from the recently-relagated Dragonborns, and one from Samurai in Jeans, who barely missed their chance at becoming a professional team.
During these past few days, there have been quite a number of discussions concerning the player swaps. People around eSports, from fans to players to managers, had expressed their opinions and concerns, and a lot of them do not agree to it. Personally, I do not agree as well, but I respect their decision and anticipate their upcoming matches for the rest of the EU LCS Summer Split.
However, this specific event opens up an oppotunity to talk about two aspects in team-based games that I'm very fond of: Playstyle and cultural impact in the scene, the latter a result of having an all-Danish team prior to what happened. Thus, this feature shall take a closer look at these two topics and look at their possible repercussions towards the season and the community.
DIFFERENT NINJAS, SAME PYJAMAS?
As big of deal as it is to take out more than half your squad, I think there's another underlying issue that's going to greatly affect how they play. Because of the roster change, they have removed one player from two lanes and the jungle. This breaks down the whole synergy of the team, and synergy is one of the most vital concepts a team must have, possibly even more than mechanics. Remember when there was concern about Gambit when Edward left the team? Or how about when Crumbzz wasn't able to make it for one day during the NA LCS Spring Split? Even then, people knew how big of a deal is was for one player to be out of a team, be it temporarily or permanently. Now, imagine all of that combined, then add a new Top Laner. Suffice to say, it'll be very tough for NiP.
Throwing out almost everything one team has worked out for months: strategy, team compositions, understading each other on a near instinctive level, is simply put, devastating. And to do this during the LCS Summer Split, where every team scrambles and claws their way to the top, with the ticket for the World Championship awaiting them, it really difficult to see how they can get their synergy on the same level as before. Brand new plans must be made, communication between teammates rebuilt, and we haven't even got to changes made to each role:
Top Laner- Throughout the Spring Split, NeeGodBro has always been more effective with tanky champions. Malphite, Shen, and Singed are usually his go-to picks, and when using any of these three, he can provide a strong teamfight presence, mostly as an initiator. Consistency, however, is something to be desired, even with his comfort champs.
Extinkt is a strong Mid Laner whow was quite known during his Curse.EU days. Among his and his teammates' highlights were defeating Gambit Gaming, Moscow 5 back then in the semifinals of Tales of the Lane, a community-backed tournament hosted in Lille, France. Another highlight was during the finals of the same tournament, where he pulled out Darius out of all champions to counter Tabzz' best champion Fizz, and win. This means that he brings a much wider champion pool, which potentially allows NiP to construct new team comps.
Jungler- Svenskeren has been considered as one of the most improved Jungler during the Spring Split. Giving him Jarvan IV is essentially asking to be ganked over and over. If you take the Demacian Prince out, he still has other powerful champions at his disposal, most notably Evelynn, and all of them played aggressively and all-out. This high-risk, high-reward play style combined with Bjergsen's strong dueling skills, made them a formidable duo that could easily snowball out of control.
Malunoo on the other hand, isn't as gank-hungry as his predecessor. He prefers a more conservative approach, only ganking when it's abosulutely necessary, most of the time counter-initiating his enemy junglers. Together in Curse.EU with extinkt, they have developed a great chemistry and have won games because of it, such as the aforementioned Gambit Gaming. Though fortunate to be still with his partner in crime, he will have to recreate this special connection with Bjergsen, possibly be forced to replicate how Svenskeren helped the mid lane.
AD Carry- TheTess, if I would to make a personal comparison, is like Cop from Curse. Solid mechanics, preference to strong AoE AD Carries such as Miss Fortune, Varus, and Ezreal, and doesn't lose lane much. Problem is, he doesn't win lane much either. Though first few games in the Spring Split when Bjergsen was still too young to compete, he managed to make a lasting impact among his foes. Sadly, it wasn't enough, and it wasn't until their star Mid Laner arrived where they managed to start winning.
Freeze was someone a lot of the EU scene recognizes. Even Edward, Gambit's former support player, now in Curse, calls him the best ADC in Europe. During his time in Samurai in Jeans and Heimerdinger's Colossi, he has shown impressive mechanics and positioning with his champion picks. He is also very aggressive, and likes to go on the offensive most of the time. This might pose some decision-making problems with his new support Deficio, or it might not. We just have to wait and see how good this duo can be.
Ripping off half a team and stiching on a new one is like breaking your arm or leg. It might heal up eventually, but time is needed before you can be whole and fully functional again. Unfortunately, time is what NiP does not have at the moment, not to mention it is still a hanging question whether or not at the fullest potential, would this team be as good or surpass the old Copanhagen Wolves lineup.
THE DANISH DECEPTION
This second topic came up as someone from Gosugamers reminded me that Ninjas in Pyjamas were an all-Danish team. Having a team with members from the same country has a special effect on multinational regions, such as Europe and Southeast Asia. A sense of national pride arises, whether fans of that country notice it or not. Living in the Philippines, I can personally atest to this. Though I had heavily criticized my home team "The Manila Eagles" in the GPL, there is still this happy feeling I get whenever they manage to win.
For a grander example, let us take the Season Two World Champions, the Taipei Assassins. This team from the SEA Region shocked the world by defeating the fan favored Moscow Five and Azubu Frost to earn the crown. But what impressed me the most wasn't their performance, is this:
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See the crowd? The press? The flags waving in the air as they congratulate the team? That was a welcome for heroes, and heroes they were. Another powerful, more recent example is this:
To those who watched the EU LCS in Moscow, you've heard the roars of the fans whenever Gambit Gaming was one stage. Even saying the name would trigger very loud cheers. And this is what I'm talking out: being passionate for those players who represent your country.
When the news about the NiP roster change broke out, a lot of fans from Denmark felt betrayed. They believe that the trust was broken the moment NiP took on players from another country. Even it is was just one player (in fact, only TheTess and NeeGodBro were supposed to be out, but Svenskeren left due to his friendship with NGB), I think it would still have a similar effect. During Edward's departure, Gambit Gaming specifically stated that their replacement would only be Russian. Communication might be one factor, but national loyalty I think is another.
One of the main assets of Ninjas in Pyjamas, then Copanhagen Wolves, was their identity. To remove that identity was to me, very unwise and lowered their marketability a lot. They can't be called "The Danes" or "The Boys from Denmark" anymore, they're just another LCS team. Even if they do decide to bring back those three members, I doubt it would have the same impression as before.
A NEW HOPE?
With the remainder of the LCS Summer Split ahead of them, it is going to be the toughest time Bjergsen, Deficio, and the rest of Ninjas in Pyjamas will ever have. Rebuilding teamwork, getting along, gaining their fans back, and winning games might just be too overwhelming to pull off in only a few months. I would still support them, but I can't say that I'm as big as a fan like before. Therefore, I doubt that we are going to see NiP on stage for the Season 3 World Championships.
I dearly hope they prove me wrong.
