Ninjas in Pyjamas will continue to play without Audric "⁠JACKZ⁠" Jug. The French player will no longer be a temporary substitute for the roster, as the team lost the right to receive invites through the wildcard system.

For NIP, invitations were possible thanks to a special roster: Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer, Rasmus "⁠sjuush⁠" Beck, and JACKZ were among the top 8 of the VRS rankings over the past 12 months. However, rule changes reduced this period to six months, causing Ninjas in Pyjamas to lose their invite rights on February 25th.

How were NIP planning to receive invites?

The club hoped to take advantage of the special status of players in the Valve rankings. Snappi last made the top 8 on March 3, 2024, and under the old rules, the team could have continued receiving tournament invitations for a few more months. But the system update canceled this opportunity. During his time with the roster, JACKZ played in five closed CCT qualifiers, substituting for Rafael "⁠arrozdoce⁠" Wing. However, NIP did not manage to progress in any tournament.

JACKZ's Reaction and NIP's Prospects

The Frenchman commented on his short stint with NIP:

My little adventure with NiP comes to an end here. I’m disappointed not to have achieved a better result with the guys, but we gave it our all! The reality is that with zero practice together, it’s hard to truly adapt to a system and be in sync in all phases of the game.

JACKZ wrote on his social media

Currently, Ninjas in Pyjamas are ranked only 158th in the Valve Global Standings. Without wildcard invites, they are forced to rely on challenging online qualifiers to climb up the rankings.

The current roster of Ninjas in Pyjamas:

• Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer
• Rasmus "⁠sjuush⁠" Beck
• Artem "⁠r1nkle⁠" Moroz
• Michel "⁠ewjerkz⁠" Pinto
• Rafael "⁠arrozdoce⁠" Wing
• Richard "⁠Xizt⁠" Landström (coach)

The next challenge for the team will be the closed qualifier for PGL Bucharest, where they secured a spot through an open qualifier. For NIP, this is an opportunity to prove the viability of their updated roster in a highly competitive environment.