Ninjas in Pyjamas Announces Total Roster Overhaul for LPL 2026 Season
Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP) has dropped a bombshell rebuild, announcing its entire revamped lineup for the 2026 League of Legends Pro League (LPL) season after a dismal 2025 campaign that saw the team drop out without a Worlds berth.
With a mix of seasoned imports and domestic talent, NIP aims to claw back into contention following mid pack slumps and mid season roster tweaks.
Clean Sweep: Full 2025 Roster Hits the Exit
NIP’s 2025 squad started hot, with a top-six spot in Split 1, but cratered with inconsistent play and missed playoffs. The purge clears out the old guard, including star mid laner Kim ‘Doinb’ Tae-sang. a Worlds champ whose magic couldn’t salvage the season. Then top laner Deng ‘shanji’ Zi-Jian, bot laner Hu ‘Leave’ Hong-Chao, plus the mid-year jungler and support swaps that failed to save the roster.
The 2026 Lineup
Head coach Zeng ‘Maizijian’ Xin-Yi returns for a second tour (after 2023-2024). Here’s the squad:
- Top: Yoon ‘HOYA’ Yong-ho – Korean import from ThunderTalk Gaming
- Jungle: Koo ‘Guwon’ Kwan-mo – Korean import, ex-T1 academy, LCP debut with DetonatioN FocusMe
- Mid: Yang ‘Care’ Jie – From FunPlus Phoenix (Chinese)
- ADC: Zou ‘Assum’ Wei – From FunPlus Phoenix (Chinese)
- Support: Wang ‘Zhuo’ Xu-Zhuo – From JD Gaming (Chinese)
- Sub Top: Zhou ‘Alley’ Yu – Academy talent who will be a unlikely starter
This import heavy core features two Koreans anchoring top and jungle, pairs with proven Chinese mids and bot duo for balance.
NIP’s new era kicks off at the Demacia Cup on December 15, 2025, a tune up before the full LPL slate in January 2026. Expect early tests against LPL heavyweights to see if this reset can pish them past mid table mediocrity.
Since: October 29, 2025
