Ninjas in Pyjamas have made the surprise announcement that they are entering the professional VALORANT scene with the acquisition of their former Paladins roster that won the 2019 Paladins World Championship! This is an incredibly wise decision from NIP, with Paladins being very similar to Valorant as a first-person class-based shooter, plus the added bonus of having a roster that has already played together with many months of experience and glory. This will surely give NIP an edge compared with the other pro teams entering the Valorant scene.

On their website, NIP gave the following statement: ”From World Champions to VALORANT debutants, our prominent Paladins squad rises once more to compete in the ambitious new tactical shooter from Riot Games as part of Ninjas in Pyjamas”

Of course, Ninjas in Pyjamas are best known for their legendary Counter-Strike roster that dominated the early scene of CS:GO back in 2012. VALORANT is due to be released sometime in Summer 2020, so the former Paladins roster has plenty of time to come to grips with the game and hit the ground running when the Esports side of VALORANT comes into existence.

This makes NIP the second Esports organization to officially announce their entry into the VALORANT pro scene, after T1 announced the acquisition of former CS:GO pros ”swag” and ”AZK”. It’s surely only a matter of time until other top Esports organisations such as FaZe Clan, 100 Thieves, Fnatic and Team Liquid throw their hat into VALORANT. Developer Riot Games will undoubtedly be looking to make this the next hot Esport, given the enormous success they have had with League of Legends.

Ninjas in Pyjamas VALORANT roster: (NIP still need to find a fifth member to complete the line-up.)

Malkolm “bonkar” Rench

Leander “isbittenner” Aspestrand

Dylan ”DiGeDoG” Chainski

Aleks ”Alex” Suchev

Erik “Bird” Sjösten (Coach)

Want to learn more about VALORANT? Check out my initial impressions from the Closed Beta.

For more VALORANT news and updates go to gamezo.co.uk