Games

JACKZ departs NiP as CS2 squad falls outside top 150 in Valve rankings

BBG News

NiP’s latest rebuild has backfired, to the shock of no-one.

As a dedicated fan, it’s thrilling to see the iconic Counter-Strike organization Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) outperforming Audric “JACKZ” Jug today, their latest stand-in from France. Approximately a month after JACKZ joined NiP’s CS:2 squad, they continue to impress.

His leaving coincides with Valve’s recent rearrangement of the ranking and recategorization of a team’s VRS wildcard position, a change that has led NiP CS2 to plummet in the standings, creating a deep hole in the rankings that could significantly impact their opportunity to participate in LAN tournaments.

Calls grow for full NiP reset as squad plummets in all-important VRS rankings

On February 25th, JACKZ officially announced his departure from NiP CS:GO team, which comes just a month after he joined the organization as a sixth man. In this short timeframe, he participated in various CCT qualifiers, stepping up for Rafael “arrozdoce” Wing as a stand-in, competing against tier two and three teams.

As a gamer, I lament that our attempts in the qualifier matches didn’t translate into victories, denying us chances to elevate our VRS points. I expressed my feelings by saying, “I’m bummed we couldn’t pull off something more substantial as a team, but we gave it our best shot!” JACKZ shared his thoughts, admitting that it was tough for us to get used to the team’s system with no practice time together.

Initially, NiP brought in JACKZ as a substitute for invite eligibility due to the Frenchman’s performance with Vitality at the tail end of 2024. The points earned by JACKZ allowed him, Rasmus “sjuush” Beck, and Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer to secure invitations for multiple qualifiers as a team.

Consequently, losses against lower-tier opponents and a recent modification to Valve’s VRS rule have stripped JACKZ of his wildcard status, as his points have expired. Therefore, NiP will move forward with their primary roster, no longer including JACKZ as a substitute — leaving them struggling in the depths of the rankings.

NiP falls to record low VRS ranking — and their freefall doesn’t look to be over

In the most recent update, Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) have dropped to 158th place on Valve’s leaderboard. Although they still hover just beyond the top 60 on HLTV’s official rankings, if they continue missing events, their points will significantly decrease. Historically, this NiP roster has reached a low of 109th (on HLTV), and they appear to be headed in that direction over the coming weeks.

If there are no more VRS points available, it means that direct invitations to major tournament organized events will decrease significantly. As a result, Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) would have to compete in the limited number of open qualifiers that are still available.

2024 saw Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) participating in only four top-tier CS:2 tournaments, with their best achievement being runners-up at YaLLa Compass against The MongolZ. In significant events like ESL Pro League Seasons 19 and 20, however, NiP failed to advance beyond the group stages.

The departure of veterans Fredrik “REZ” Sterner and Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin, who have been excelling with their recent teams, has rubbed even more salt into the wounds of NiP, currently undergoing their fourth team restructuring within a four-year span.

Later this week, they plan to gear up for the PGL Bucharest closed qualifier, where teams like BIG, BetBoom, Metizport, and ENCE will be present. With only a single spot open for the main event, many doubt that NiP will manage to make it.

Afterwards, I’ll return to competing in smaller online tournaments with aspirations of making it onto the VRS leaderboard once more.

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2025-02-26 08:10

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