Ninjas in Pyjamas are hunting for a new in-game leader. Their current captain, Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer, will step aside after a run of poor results. This matters because Snappi has anchored NiP’s rebuild for over a year. His exit signals a bigger shake-up than a simple roster tweak.
The move looks mutual. Snappi had already said he would step down if NiP wanted a new direction. He is now open to taking a new role elsewhere in the scene. This shows the change is planned, not a sudden fallout, even though the team’s results have clearly struggled.
Snappi’s Time at the Helm
Snappi joined Ninjas in Pyjamas in January 2025. The organization rebuilt the roster that month around Artem “r1nkle” Moroz, who later moved to G2. Under Snappi, NiP reached the grand final of StarSeries Fall 2025. The team also played Stage 2 of the Budapest Major and finished in the top 12 at IEM Cologne 2025. However, recent form has dropped sharply.
A Rough Run of Results
NiP currently sit 20th in the Europe VRS. No tier-1 invites are on the horizon. The team crashed out of the Esports World Cup in 17th-24th place. They lost to Legacy and Astralis there, and beat only BetBoom. Earlier results this year told a similar story: 12th-14th at XSE Pro League, 5th-8th at BLAST Premier Rising, 3rd at Stake Ranked Episode 3, 9th-16th at BLAST Bounty, and 3rd-4th in the StarSeries Fall closed qualifier.
The Search for a New IGL
NiP are now working multiple angles to fix the roster. MIBR reportedly turned down an NiP offer for Linus “LNZ” Holtäng, who has played for the Brazilian side since January. The organization is also weighing options to permanently replace Artem “cairne” Mushynskyi, whom NiP benched in June. Since then, academy player Roman “n0te” Hamze has filled the slot on an interim basis.
What Comes Next
All details in this report come from multiple sources cited by HLTV and Dust2 Brasil. NiP declined to comment when contacted for this story. The team’s next event is Logitech G Play Connect, a $100,000 tournament in Warsaw from September 17 to 23. NiP have also signed up for ROG Journey Autumn in early October.
This story is worth watching for two reasons. First, NiP still need a new in-game leader. Second, they must fill the fifth slot left by cairne’s benching. How they resolve both questions before September could decide their fate. They may climb back toward tier-1 competition, or keep sliding down the European rankings.
