The Swedish esports organisation, Ninjas in Pyjamas, have just revealed their new Brazilian Valorant roster that will be competing in the new Valorant Champions Tour season.
The organisation kicked off the previous season in Europe but saw very little success. By the end of the year, the existing Valorant roster was disbanded and NiP set their sights on the Brazilian Valorant region.
A Change of Scenery
Many of you might wonder what a Swedish esports organisation is doing in Brazil, and that’s a valid question. Originally, the organisation entered Valorant with their European Valorant squad, but failed to achieve the results they set for themselves.
While NiP did well during the first VCT stage and even managed to qualify for the first Europe Masters event, they ultimately failed to win the tournament. Stage 2 came and NiP were back in action, and once again they achieved subpar results. After that, NiP disappeared from the Valorant map and we wouldn’t hear from them for a long time.
Looking back now, an argument could be made that NiP quit too soon and ended their run before it even truly began. Plenty of teams had a rough start at the beginning of Valorant Champions Tour but somehow qualified for those last few big events and scored some great prizes.
Now Ninjas in Pyjamas are back again and will be competing in a completely new environment. They’re playing their first Brazil Stage 1 Challengers – Closed Qualifier 1 match against Los Grandes, and if they win, they’ll be one step closer to qualifying for the first VCT Brazil Stage 1 Challengers.
An Established Infrastructure
One other reason for NiP’s switch to Brazil from EMEA was their Rainbow Six team in Brazil, who are currently one of the top squads in the world. The organisation already had an established esports infrastructure in Brazil and plenty of fans that are cheering them on, which puts things into perspective and explains their Valorant move.
Welcome to the Dojo!
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#VALORANT @NIPBR pic.twitter.com/IK0iSYRq3e— Ninjas in Pyjamas (@NIP) January 17, 2022
Additionally, NiP should have an easier time in Brazil compared to EMEA. Riot Games recognized EMEA as the strongest region in Valorant, and qualifying for the Masters and bigger major events automatically became much more difficult for each team competing.
On the other hand, the Brazilian region still gets 2 spots in VCT Masters and has much less competition. It also has more room for growth, all of which suits Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Journey to Masters
The first task for Ninjas in Pyjamas is to qualify for the Stage 1 Challengers. The Brazilian Challengers have 10 teams in total, while the EMEA region has 12, so that’s already an advantage for NiP.
However, they shouldn’t underestimate some of the veterans of the Brazilian region. If they make it to the Challengers, they’ll face teams such as Sharks, Team Vikings, Keyd Stars, and FURIA Esports. All of these squads gained a lot of experience last year while NiP was inactive, so it’s still going to be a real battle.
Ninjas in Pyjamas will play their first Closed Qualifier match today, so we’ll see how it will go. We’ll keep our expectations high.
