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Dota 24 years ago

NiP leave Dota 2 (again)

Ninjas in Pyjamas have dropped their Dota 2 team and are stepping away from competitive play once again. 

It has been a long and winding road for the Swedish based organization. 

Citing financial instability due to the pandemic crisis and lack of events and LANs as well as postponed DPC season, NiP has decided to pull the plug on competitive play in Dota 2. 

This year has taken a massive toll on what was already an unstable ecosystem. With the indefinite postponement of the DPC and The International, we find ourselves on an increasingly unclear path to financial stability within the game. We’re seeing a high concentration of talent in the EU region, meaning that the cost of keeping up is markedly higher while revenues are dwindling. Ninjas in Pyjamas is one of the most iconic teams in the world - competing for the biggest trophies is a core part of our DNA, and the road to that through EU is simply not viable at this point. Because of that, we have decided to shut down our DotA2 department in its current format, and rethink our strategy and regional presence completely.

A special thanks goes to our players who have worked hard to improve, and taken positively to all our ideas on how to rethink the current way of approaching DotA2. It’s an incredibly talented group of players who I have no doubt will go far. I wish them the very best of luck.

One week after NiP bid farewell to Peter ‘PPD’ Dager after 1.5 years in April 2020. the Swedish organization picked up the stack known as Chicken Fighters.  It was right after an unexpected and impressive fourth-place finish at ESL One Los Angeles Online for the new lineup. However, the team wasn't able to accomplish much more than that in a very top-heavy region and no LAN events to compete. 

NiP originally entered into Dota 2 in 2015 with Adrian “Era” Kryeziu and his group. After 10 months they dropped the squad and left the scene. In January 2017 the Swedish organization had picked up Escape Gaming and Era but in June 2017 NiP announced they had parted ways with their Dota 2 squad.

In sept 2018 they re-entered the Dota 2 scene by picking up Peter 'PPD' Dager's stack who became the new cornerstone for the organization for 1.5 years. 

Author
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Cristy "Pandora" RamadaniPandora is a behind the scenes Dota 2 professional Jack of All Trades. When not busy with Dota 2 work, she is out trying to save the world or baking cupcakes. Follow her on Twitter @pandoradota2