After a sixth and a fourth place finish in Seasons 8 and 9 respectively, the Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) roster led by Gustavo "Psycho" Rigal has missed the last two Pro League Finals. In fact, the team's last appearance in a Pro League Finals game was in the Season 6 Grand Finals, where the roster, which represented Black Dragons back then, lost against ENCE eSports by 2-0. This means that it has been almost two years since the roster’s last Pro League Finals game. This might end this season, as NiP firmly leads the standings with 17 points after winning six games and only drawing one.
Ninjas in Pyjamas currently sits first after the first half of the Season 10, eight points away from third place.
However, despite the fact that NiP missed the last two Pro League Finals, this didn't stop them from playing the last two Majors under the Swedish organization, always qualifying through the online qualifiers. NiP had to beat in Immortals in the Final to play the Six Major Paris and, to qualify for the 2019 Six Invitational, the roster won against their former organization, Black Dragons. This year was not an exception. After, as stated before, missing out on the Milan Finals, the team played the Allied Esports Las Vegas Minor; however, although the team played a great Swiss -- finishing in third place after some strong appearances against teams such as LeStream Esports, Chaos and DarkZero Esports, team against which they won by 7-1 -- the Brazilian roster lost in the quarterfinals encounter against Chaos, failing to repeat a positive result.
Ninjas in Pyjamas stats at the Allied Esports Las Vegas Minor.
After deciding to not take the chance to play in Valencia, NiP went all in with the LATAM qualifiers. The team reached the Winners' Finals without dropping a single map, and won against Team Liquid by 2-0. NiP was the favourite to get the LATAM spot but Team oNe won the first map against the Swedish organization (7-5 on Border). However, two very strong performances in Kafe (7-1) and Villa (7-3) terminated Team oNe's dream to qualify for a Major tournament. This, without any doubt, gives NiP the title of LATAM's online qualifiers gatekeepers.
As stated before, the Ninjas look in a very good shape, dominating LATAM and being on their way to play their first Pro League Finals under the NiP flag. Their history representing NiP in Major and Minor events is also positive, reaching the quarter finals in Paris and Las Vegas, however they finished in last place of their 2019 Six Invitational group. The team also played in the Brasileirão Finals two weeks ago, where they won against their former organization, but lost in the semi-finals against FaZe Clan after winning a very one sided map on Consulate (7-2) but losing the other two maps that ended with very tight results (5-7 and 6-8 on Border and Villa respectively).
NiP on stage just before facing Evil Geniuses at the Paris Major, via ESIX
Now, as Ninjas in Pyjamas approaches the Raleigh Major, their third Major in a row representing the Swedish organization, we spoke to Psycho to ask how they have been preparing for the event and what can we expect from them:
A few criticised your choice to bring in muzi last season at a critical juncture that saw you miss out on the Finals. Would you say it has paid off now?
Your Season 10 has been going great, and your Allied Esports Minor performance was strong as well. What would you say has been the biggest factor?
You just lost to FaZe Clan in the BR6 Finals, what went wrong here?
Which is one team you feel may be underestimated at the Major and why?
What is your ideal location for the next Six Major?
How have you been preparing for the Major?
How has the addition of Ar7hur aided your team?
Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
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The Six Major Raleigh 2019 is taking place from the 12th of August until the 18th, where Ninjas in Pyjamas will try to surpass their result from the Paris Major. To do so they will have to survive in the already well known “Group of Death”, where they will face Giants Gaming (ex-LFO), Spacestation Gaming and Evil Geniuses, beginning with this last American team. For more content on the upcoming major check the other interviews here.