Brazil’s second seed, Ninjas in Pyjamas and their journey to Iceland
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 "Seraph" 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 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.
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VCT 2022 - Brazil - Stage 1 - Main Event - Group B
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Vivo Keyd Stars
Playoffs
The first round of the playoffs for NiP was the upper bracket semi finals. FURIA took down TBK Esports 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 - Grand Final
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Ninjas in Pyjamas
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
Alexandre "xand" ZiziThe 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.
Benjamin "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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