Ninjas in Pyjamas pauses Young Ninjas, releases players

Ninjas in Pyjamas has paused its Young Ninjas academy for the foreseeable future and released all contracted players and staff. The change affects Rūdolfs ‘rud’ Osmanis, Dawid ‘tein’ Śladkowski and Joe ‘joeski’ Holmes, and coach Rasmus ‘Zitte’ Johansson. Their last appearance in NiP colours was in European Pro League Series 7 in June.

In an official statement Ninjas in Pyjamas wrote: “As we look ahead, we’ve made the difficult decision to put the Young Ninjas project on hold for the foreseeable future. While this wasn’t an easy decision, we believe it’s the right one as we evaluate the future of our competitive ecosystem.”

The released players and coach are free agents and may sign with other teams. NiP did not provide a timeline for restarting the academy or describe alternative talent pathways while Young Ninjas is paused.

Young Ninjas has promoted several players to top-tier squads. Alumni include Erik ‘ztr’ Gustafsson, Linus ‘nilo’ Bergman, Love ‘phzy’ Smidebrant and Kacper ‘xKacpersky’ Gabara. Roman ‘n0te’ Hamze is currently on a temporary promotion to NiP’s main team after time with the academy.

NiP did not release financial details or say whether released personnel will receive ongoing support. The organisation said it is evaluating how it manages its competitive teams and talent development.