Path of a Ninja - a talent program to enhance regrowth of Swedish CS:GO

It has been said that we’re as legendary in-game as our legendary name. Ninjas in Pyjamas - we have been around for over 20 years. How do we make sure our legacy lives for another 20? We need talents. We need a new generation of esport players to grow up. So maybe we should ask ourselves, how do we make sure that the future of Swedish esports - the talents, the young and hungry individuals - are getting the tools they need to become the very best? NIP is Sweden’s leading clan of competitive gaming and it’s time for us to take responsibility. 

This is where we introduce Path of a Ninja - a talent program for the future CS:GO players of Sweden. Together with Area Academy, creators of the wildly successful Swedish Elitserien in CS:GO, we’re going to scout, recruit and support a new generation of players. For every finished season of Elitserien, an experienced jury will invite two or three talents to join the Path of a Ninja. We’ll make sure to provide them with all the tools they need, both inside and outside the game, to lower the gap between grassroots and professional CS:GO. Former 1.6 pro Jonas Gundersen, currently Chief Operating Officer at NIP, explains further:

There’s something missing for young individuals who want to turn pro today. More teams are moving towards academy teams and six player rotations for various reasons. While we see those as viable options for our own evolution, we also see the need to support the underlying ecosystem and provide ways into a potential academy team in the future. We’ll invest heavy in this and work hard to equip young Swedish talents with everything they need in order to develop further. Sweden has an incredibly rich history of having the very best talent within the FPS genre of games. We feel that it’s a part of our DNA to help rekindle that so we can keep being a world dominating nation.

Counter-Strike has in its different versions been the most popular esport in Sweden for two decades and Ninjas in Pyjamas the leading team. It’s therefore natural that one of the jury members is also one of the OG members and the Co-Founder. Tommy “Potti” Ingemarsson, currently CEO at Area Academy, is very emotional about the project:

The reason we became so successful during my first session in NIP 20 years ago is because we picked up young talents who we saw huge potential in. It feels like a full circle for me to start up this project together with NIP. Area Academy has been working so hard for many years to give Elitserien its current status, and I’m comfortable that we’ll find the stars of tomorrow in it.

This season of Elitserien will conclude this weekend. Right after the playoffs, the jury will select a couple of talented players based on their performance and potential to join the Path of a Ninja. As part of the program, participants will remain in their current teams, but they will get gameplay and well-being guidance from the professional NIP staff. They will get invited to workshops and bootcamps at the NIP headquarters in Stockholm and much more. Please visit secsgo.se for more information about Elitserien and Path of a Ninja. 

The Jury: 

• Björn “THREAT” Pers: former 1.6 and CS:GO pro, currently Head Coach at NiP
• Jonas Gundersen: former 1.6 pro, currently COO at NiP
• Tommy “Potti” Ingemarsson: former 1.6 pro, currently CEO at Area Academy
• Fredrik “JAEGARN” Andersson: former 1.6 pro, currently Head of Education at Area Academy