NIP are still bad, even with new players.

The new-look Ninjas have been eliminated first at Elisa Masters Espoo and by a team outside of the damn top 100. However, in the interest of fairness, NIP did use a stand-in.

But we think the full story is still hilarious, so let's rewind.

NIP came into this event with a new IGL, MisteM, and a lot to prove. So you’d hope they’d take an opportunity to do so in a BO1 against former teammate headtr1ck’s B8. Unfortunately for the Swedish core, their debut didn’t go as planned. They got taken all the way to overtime, where B8 dropped them right down to the elimination game.

There they faced the final boss. Some say he’s an old-school NIP player, a legend of the game, and the owner of one of the most recognizable ballsacks in the world. We just call him allu.

More specifically, NIP faced JANO. A Finish team that also houses Aerial and xseveN, names that will make the ears of some of our readers perk up.

They both did their part on map 1, but credit has to go to the lesser known HENU and juho who showed up for this game. Their performances along with an absolute dumpster fire of a performance from NIP were enough to win them the series 2:1.

It’s worth noting that JANO is the #171st-rated team in the world on HLTV. That’s almost 100 spots lower than Ohnepixel’s DRILLAS. AND THEY HAVE ALLU AS THEIR AWPER IN GODS YEAR 2024.

NIPs collapse is genuinely legendary. There is simply no legacy that has been tainted more than theirs. We just feel bad for the OG NIP players who have to sit through this mess. Who knows, maybe es3tag leaving them lifts some sort of curse. lol.