Brazil’s second seed, Ninjas in Pyjamas and their journey to Iceland

Written By Onur Demirkol Writer
Last UpdatedApril 9, 2022 at 06:00PM
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The European esports organization, Ninjas in Pyjamas have built a VALORANT roster in Brazil to conquer the region. Eventually, they became the second-best team in the region and qualified for VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Masters Reykjavík.

Qualifier

Ninjas in Pyjamas’ Brazil journey started from the bottom, VCT 2022 - Brazil - Stage 1 - Closed Qualifier 1. To prove their worth to the region, the European esports organization started by taking down Los Grandes with two wins on Icebox and Haven. The only Argentinian player on the roster, Benjamin "bnj" Rabinovich, stepped up for his team’s first appearance with 41 kills on Viper and Astra. The ex-KRÜ Esports player held a 1.29 rating and a 1.86 K/D to make a confident start. NiP came up against Botafogo eSports in the semi finals of the closed qualifiers. They made a great start to the series with a confident win on Ascent, 13-3-. However, Botafogo bounced back on Fracture and tied the series but NiP’s Icebox gameplay was on another level as they closed out the series with a one-sided 13-3 win on the map. As a result, they clinched a spot at VCT 2022 - Brazil - Stage 1 - Main Event alongside the other semi-final winner, Pancada e amigos.

Group Stage

NiP didn’t have the best start to the group stage, losing their first game against FURIA, 2-1. Despite losing their opening game, NiP showed potential before the upcoming matches as they still needed time to improve. They managed to tie their score to 1-1 by taking down yng Sharks without losing a map, 2-0 Ninjas in Pyjamas’ good form continued for two more games, against Vivo Keyd Stars, and INGAMING Esports. Apart from getting these wins to make it out of the group stage, taking down Vivo Keyd showed their capacity and developing chemistry. The Brazilian organization looked decent in their first games especially with Olavo "heat" Marcelo’s dominant individual performance. Despite their heartbreaking start to the competition, Ninjas in Pyjamas bounced back stronger to face the best teams in the region. After taking the win against Vivo Keyd, they secured the first seed in Group B and started the playoffs in the second round.

VCT 2022 - Brazil - Stage 1 - Main Event VCT 2022 - Brazil - Stage 1 - Main Event
Vivo Keyd Stars
Vivo Keyd Stars
1
X
2
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Group B, Best of 3 - February 27, 2022 - 10:30PM
Vivo Keyd Stars9
Icebox
Ninjas in Pyjamas13
Vivo Keyd Stars13
Bind
Ninjas in Pyjamas8
Vivo Keyd Stars10
Split
Ninjas in Pyjamas13
Vivo Keyd StarsVivo Keyd Stars
player
Rating
ACS
K/D/A
+/-
K/D
KAST
ADR
HS%
FBSR
FB
FD
JettChamber
1.26
252
60/48/13
+12
1.25
80.1%
169.2
30%
61%
11
7
SovaRaze
1.18
241
52/48/26
+4
1.08
80.4%
162.3
14%
63%
10
6
ReynaSkyeChamber
1.14
226
53/49/20
+4
1.08
75.7%
144.8
18%
54%
7
6
ViperAstra
1.11
211
51/44/20
+7
1.16
74.3%
129.4
22%
60%
6
4
SageViper
0.83
148
33/43/27
-10
0.77
80.4%
91.6
14%
50%
5
5
Ninjas in PyjamasNinjas in Pyjamas
player
Rating
ACS
K/D/A
+/-
K/D
KAST
ADR
HS%
FBSR
FB
FD
ReynaJett
1.21
263
61/53/13
+8
1.15
75.6%
169.0
34%
60%
9
6
SovaSage
1.09
232
50/52/23
-2
0.96
69.8%
154.8
19%
53%
8
7
SageAstraCypher
1.01
177
42/45/29
-3
0.93
64.6%
121.1
20%
25%
2
6
JettSkyeRaze
0.89
191
46/49/14
-3
0.94
60.2%
122.6
20%
24%
5
16
ViperOmen
0.78
146
33/50/22
-17
0.66
70.8%
92.4
31%
50%
4
4

Playoffs

The first round of the playoffs for NiP was the upper bracket semi finals. FURIA took down TBK Lusa to face them in the second round and it was their second match after the opening game of the group stage. This time, Ninjas in Pyjamas looked much better, taking down their opponent in three maps to take revenge on the groups. However, LOUD ended their winning streak with a clean sweep. Gustavo "Sacy" Rossi stepped up for his team, grabbing 53 kills and holding a 1.54 rating in three maps. On the other side, Alexandre "xand" Zizi tried his best to keep his team in the series and keep their grand final hopes alive but it wasn’t enough. NiP’s run didn’t end there as they had another chance in the lower bracket finals. After the great competition in the lower bracket final, Ninjas in Pyjamas took down Vivo Keyd Stars in a tense five-game series. The competition was at the highest level as both teams played their hearts out to reach the grand final. Olavo "heat" Marcelo secured 107 kills in five maps with Jett in his hands but NiP’s teamwork and chemistry were superior. The last map of the series went one-sided, 13-3, and the European organization reached the grand final. Just like the upper bracket final, the result didn’t change as LOUD completed another sweep to lift the trophy. Despite facing another hard loss, NiP’s run continued at VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Challengers - South America Playoff. They faced Leviatán, the second-seeded organization of LATAM, and swept their opponent to guarantee their spot at Iceland.

VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Challengers - South America Playoff VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Challengers - South America Playoff
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Ninjas in Pyjamas
3
X
0
Leviatán
Leviatán
Grand Final, Best of 5 - April 1, 2022 - 8:00PM
Ninjas in Pyjamas13
Icebox
Leviatán6
Ninjas in Pyjamas13
Haven
Leviatán6
Ninjas in Pyjamas14
Split
Leviatán12
Ninjas in PyjamasNinjas in Pyjamas
player
Rating
ACS
K/D/A
+/-
K/D
KAST
ADR
HS%
FBSR
FB
FD
JettRaze
1.24
268
60/43/10
+17
1.40
71.7%
177.7
20%
63%
12
7
ViperOmen
1.21
217
49/35/25
+14
1.40
83.1%
138.3
29%
57%
4
3
SageCypher
1.20
235
50/42/24
+8
1.19
85.3%
144.1
23%
75%
6
2
SovaSage
1.01
191
43/37/23
+6
1.16
78.3%
122.1
21%
38%
3
5
ReynaKAY/OJett
0.96
185
41/41/23
0
1.00
81.8%
127.6
23%
36%
8
14
LeviatánLeviatán
player
Rating
ACS
K/D/A
+/-
K/D
KAST
ADR
HS%
FBSR
FB
FD
Jett
0.98
207
46/50/13
-4
0.92
70.4%
135.1
17%
52%
13
12
SageOmen
0.89
159
37/44/21
-7
0.84
71.3%
98.6
27%
45%
5
6
SovaSage
0.89
185
39/50/22
-11
0.78
63.9%
122.9
23%
50%
4
4
KilljoyCypher
0.75
177
38/51/13
-13
0.75
58.2%
120.4
30%
50%
5
5
ViperBreachRaze
0.70
183
38/48/5
-10
0.79
69.2%
118.2
21%
40%
4
6

Map Picks

Ninjas in Pyjamas have picked Icebox 5 times since VCT 2022 - Brazil - Stage 1 - Main Event until VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Challengers - South America Playoff. They have proven their dominance on the map with four wins in five games. However, they have also played Icebox as INGAMING Esports’s pick and won that also. Apart from Icebox, NiP are also pretty confident on Ascent and Fracture. They have played both maps more than once and grabbed multiple wins.

Player to watch

Brazil Alexandre "xand" Zizi

The Brazilian duelist of the organization, xandfps, has proven his abilities mainly with Jett. He picked Jett 22 times in the past two months, holding a 1.13 rating and 1.16 K/D. Apart from these statistics, he has also carried NiP’s firepower load with 245.55 ACS to win rounds. Alexandre is the most important piece of the roster regarding firepower and first bloods and his form means so much for the team.

Ninjas in Pyjamas’ roster consists of:

Brazil Alexandre "xand" Zizi Antigua and Barbuda Benjamin "bnj" Rabinovich Brazil Gabriel "bezn1" Luiz da Costa Brazil Cauan "cauanzin" Pereira Brazil Walney "Jonn" Reis

Brazil Rogerio "RoY" Lopez (Coach)

Onur Demirkol here, Content Writer for THESPIKEGG. You will see his name on a bunch of different articles here, whether they are breaking news or evergreen guides and content.

His journey in the industry has been marked by influential roles at esteemed platforms such as Flank Esports and 5Mid, where he served as editor-in-chief. Onur made significant contributions to their success in written content and social media, including a notable impact on an issue of the Turkish Esports Federation magazine. Currently, he serves as the Lead Editor for Gamelevate, taking pride in managing a global team of 12 talented writers. Additionally, Onur regularly contributes to Softonic, gHacks, Dataconomy, and Techbriefly. He has written thousands of articles, and that number continues to go up.

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