One of esports’ most recognized and storied brands is reportedly moving its VALORANT division yet again and is looking to move closer to its League of Legends division while also joining a region currently on the rise.
The Ninjas in Pyjamas organization is moving its VALORANT division from Brazil to China and will attempt to acquire a slot in the to-be-announced VCT China league, according to reporter Bo “BoDork” Hoogland.
NiP, a Swedish organization that has claimed numerous trophies over its 20-plus year history including a Rainbow Six Invitational and a CS:GO Major, currently competes in China in the LPL, the country’s top-tier League competition considered one of the best in the world. China is already considered a powerhouse in League, having won Worlds three of the last five times, and is now on the rise in VALORANT.
NiP entered VALORANT in April 2020 prior to the game’s release. The organization competed in Europe over the first couple of years, at one point fielding future EMEA VCT talent like Sayf and Rhyme, but failed to break into the top tier with early exits in EMEA Challengers.
In 2022, the organization opted to move away from Europe and head to Brazil, a region where it had already found success building a world championship-winning R6 Siege roster. The team fared well in Brazil early on, even making Masters Reykjavík and taking a series off Fnatic, but narrowly missed out on Masters Copenhagen before crashing out in the South America LCQ. The Brazilian organizations LOUD, FURIA, and MIBR all secured partnerships with VCT Americas for 2023, but NiP was left out.
Hoogland speculates that NiP could be targeting the roster playing under JijieHao, an organization that is currently partnered with NiP and serving as the NiP academy team in the LPL.
