Ninjas in Pyjamas stayed alive at Esports World Cup 2026, making up for a loss to Legacy with a victory over BetBoom. Team captain Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer commented in an interview with HLTV on the current state of the squad, the form of Kacper "xKacpersky" Gabara, and the reasons for the updated roster's inconsistency.
Despite a bright performance against BetBoom, xKacpersky's play in recent months has been inconsistent. Snappi explained that the drop in performance is specifically tied to the CT side:
- The player's rating on the T side stands at 1.20, while on CT it is 1.00.
- The main reason is adapting to new teammates, notably Martin "stavn" Lund as the AWPer and newcomer Roman "n0te" Hamze.
- The player needs time to better learn the action patterns of his new teammates and regain comfort playing on the CT side.
NIP replaced cairne with Belgian rifler n0te. According to the captain, minor difficulties occasionally arose with cairne during fast English communication, leading to errors in rounds. Newcomer n0te possesses high skill levels in shooting and mechanics, but needs experience and confidence.
"It wasn't anyone's fault, it was just the reality of things," Snappi said.
Snappi noted that it is difficult for the Swedish organization to build proper routines due to constant roster shifts and a lack of preparation time between replacements and high-stakes tournaments.
"It's hard to build consistency and actually build proper routines when there's constantly shifts," Snappi noted.
Snappi also drew attention to NIP's issues in the mid-round. The team can execute the initial plan well, but after it fails, hesitation sometimes arises.
According to the captain, that was precisely what manifested in the match against Legacy. If plan A doesn't work, players must quickly adapt and independently contribute more information.
"When plan A is done and we get to plan B and plan C, everyone has to chip in," Snappi explained.
The main priority for NIP remains qualifying for the Major and performing well there, as it is the only way to guarantee invitations to tier-1 level tournaments next season.
Changes also affected the team's staff:
- DuDe moved from an analyst position to the role of assistant head coach (Xizt).
- Sports psychologist Troels Robl, along with spray and THREAT, left the team.
- NIP have currently begun consultations with a new sports psychologist, Cat.
In their next match at EWC 2026, Ninjas in Pyjamas will play against Astralis.
As a reminder, B8 sensationally defeat Vitality and advance to the EWC 2026 playoffs.