Current Ninjas in Pyjamas captain and TI5-Champion Peter “ppd” Dager has announced his retirement from the competitive scene.
One of the greatest captains of the scene has decided to hang up his mouse and retire from active competition. ppd has been a fixture in the scene for seven years since his beginnings in 2013. Although he had roughly a year without playing actively (2016-7) he was still deeply intwined in Dota 2 as CEO of Evil Geniuses and panelist at various tournaments.
Legends Never Die – Thank you for everything @Peterpandam! ♥
🏆 The International 2015 Champion
🥇 42x tournament wins
🏅 1000+ wins in pro games@EvilGeniuses / @OpTicGaming / @NiPGaming pic.twitter.com/dWvLurfLPZ— Ninjas in Pyjamas at Home🏡🇸🇪 (@NiPGaming) April 21, 2020
One of the Greatest Captains in Dota 2
There is no doubt that ppd has been one of the greats in Dota 2 history. Not only because of the historic TI5-Championship that remains to this day the only Aegis won by a North American team. It was also his outspoken personality and the occassional smack-talk he engaged with. He not only accepted the “Salt Lord”-moniker in good humour, he embraced it as he told the fans to “leave China to him”.
But even for all of his fame and acclaim as a competitor the time has come for him to move on. In his statement he said: “I’m looking for something else that I do not think I can find in my current position.” Especially with his age (29) in mind, ppd is ready to “do something amazing and new in his 30s”
I want to thank all of the fans and players of Dota 2 whether you liked me or not for the amazing world you created and allowed me to exist in.
Ninjas in Pyjamas in Search of Two New Players
ppd’s retirement leaves NiP in quite a bind as they are now searching for two new players after Saahil “Universe” Arora was let go earlier in April.
NiP’s current roster:
- Nikita “Daxak” Kuzmin
- Jason Connor “Tanner” Weedon
- Rodrigo “Lelis” Santos
- ?
- ?
Currently the Ninjas are playing in various online leagues with Evgeniy “Blizzy” Ree and Milan “MiLAN” Kozomara as stand-ins. It is unclear if they will be offered permanent spots on the roster or if other free agents are in consideration. The future of Lelis as the resident Brazilian player in a roster based in Europe is also in question as the Dota 2 competitive circuit has mostly moved to online tournaments in the wake of CoVid-19.
Rumors have also linked NiP with the recently released Adrian “Fata” Trinks and Neta “33” from Alliance.
What is your favorite moment from ppd’s career? Which players will fill the open slots on NiP? Tell us through Facebook, Twitter, Discord or Instagram!
