Ninjas in Pyjamas Make Makes Comeback in League with ESV5 Merger and LPL Entry
Victory Five (ESV5) completes the merger with Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) and enters the LPL in 2023, almost two years after the initial announcement. The NiP brand will finally return to LoL Esports as a result of the merger, which was accomplished through an equity swap.
The merger between the two businesses was finalized on Tuesday, while the deal’s financial details were kept under wraps. The combination will facilitate NIP’s entry into the League of Legends scene and the Chinese esports market.
NIP Enters The LPL In 2023
The new company will be known as the “NIP Group,” and its co-CEOs will be ESV5 Chairman Mario Ho and NIP CEO Hicham Chahine. However, the Chinese moniker eStar Gaming Victory Five () will continue to be used. The news announcement states that Sun “XiaOt” Liwei, the CEO of eStar Gaming, would lead NIP Group while eStar Gaming will continue to function independently.
ESV5 is a partnership between Wuhan-based Victory Five (V5) and eStar Gaming. The team, which Ho founded, participated in the Chinese League of Legends Pro League (LPL) for the past three years, finishing third in the 2022 LPL Spring Playoffs as their highest finish.
After the merger was finished, V5 changed its name to NIP for the 2023 LPL Spring Season while keeping the same management and squad. NIP will engage in their maiden match against Ultra Prime on January 15 as the first Western team brand in the LPL.
Ninjas in Pyjamas Make Comeback in League of Legends
A well-known esports team called NIP focuses on FPS games including VALORANT, Rainbow Six Siege, and CS:GO. NIP has previously taken part in two separate EU LCS competitions.
They competed until the end of 2014 after first acquiring the defunct Copenhagen Wolves team in 2013, which had players like Bjergsen, Svenskeren, and Deficio. NIP then made a comeback in 2017, but after just one split, the team was demoted from the EU LCS. Up to the end of 2018, the squad kept participating in the European Masters circuit.
NIP will enter the League competitions for the third time after four years, replacing the Victory Five brand with its own. It will be interesting to observe how the new NIP Group approaches both the Chinese and the western markets given that this is the largest cross-border merger transaction in the history of esports.
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