Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) have released Nico “Gunnar” Lopez following the team’s disappointing performance at the Bukovel Minor.
The team crashed out of the Minor in 7th-8th place and failed to win a single game.
Gunnar’s departure marks the second roster change for NiP in the span of just one month.
The team replaced Oliver “Skiter” Lepko with Jason “TANNER” Weedon last December 23 after they finished at 5th-6th place at the Dota Summit 11 Minor and failed to directly qualify for DreamLeague Season 13: The Leipzig Major.
“Gunnar signed up for this journey at the beginning of the season and was committed to us improving throughout the year. He was a great teammate and a fun person to be around,” said NiP captain Peter “ppd” Dager.
NiP also announced that they will be moving back to competing in the European region for the third Major cycle of the season.
The team notably moved to North America for the second Major cycle in the hopes of an easier road to the Leipzig Major.
“By relocating to Europe we will practice consistently against the best teams in EU & CIS and focus on gradual improvement rather than rushing all of our practice in a 1-week boot camp before a qualifier or LAN,” said ppd.
NiP will also be holding tryouts for potential carry players to fill the spot left by Gunnar.
“This might be confusing to our fans but our goals are to improve as a team. Attending minors and placing last is not a recipe for success,” added ppd.
NiP will be looking to bounce back from their poor start to the season at the qualifiers for the ESL One Los Angeles Major in February.
READ MORE: Leipzig Major Group Stage Day 2 recap
