Ninjas in Pyjamas have announced that Jacob “jocab” Nerheden from Young Ninjas will continue playing with the primary squad in the upcoming RMR, due to Max “maxster” Jansson’s ongoing recovery from health issues. This decision was disclosed by NIP’s general manager Björn “THREAT” Pers and coach Richard “Xizt” Landström through a recent video update. They clarified that jocab’s inclusion is temporary and does not signal a permanent demotion for maxster, who is focused on getting back to full strength.
Xizt reported positive developments in maxster’s recovery, stating that his condition improves each day. However, maxster is not yet prepared for the rigorous bootcamp and training needed for high-level competition. “He’s making daily progress,” Xizt shared. “But we concluded that he isn’t ready to engage in training, bootcamp, and official matches before the RMR. This was the main reason behind our decision.”
Jocab first appeared with the main squad at the Elisa Masters Espoo, where NIP exited early after losses to B8 and JANO, placing last in the tournament. Despite these setbacks, jocab demonstrated improvement at the Thunderpick World Championship online event, where his performance metrics saw an increase, instilling confidence in his potential contribution to the team for RMR.
NIP’s roster for the upcoming RMR includes Fredrik “REZ” Sterner, Gareth “MisteM” Reese, Isak “isak” Phalen, Artem “r1nkle” Moroz, and Jacob “jocab” Nerheden, with Richard “Xizt” Landström serving as coach. The team’s objective is to achieve a competitive showing in the Major cycle, despite the absence of maxster. They anticipate maxster’s full recovery by the end of the year, positioning him for a return to competition after the winter break.
