Snappi on r1nkle and xKacpersky: ‘We needed to activate both, and I think we succeeded

Snappi: “We needed to activate both r1nkle and xKacpersky, and I think we succeeded”

Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP), under in-game leader Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer, have made a major leap forward in the Major qualification race by finishing second at StarSeries Fall 2025. This strong result has all but secured their spot at the Budapest Major. 

The journey hasn’t been easy: they began the year with zero VRS (Valve Regional System) points, and have had to battle through numerous online qualifiers to climb into contention. 

When asked about what changed for NiP during the tournament, Snappi pointed to the importance of bringing out the best in two newer additions—or at least players who had not yet fully found their footing—in the lineup: Artem “r1nkle” Moroz and Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara. Snappi said:

“We needed to find a way to activate them both, and I think we succeeded. Kacper played a good tournament here, and so did r1nkle.” 

He explained that the previous season’s playstyle didn’t fit both of them well—particularly in relation to each other. Adjustments were made (including reworking the playbook) to give each more space and opportunity to shine. 

Additional details & key quotes

In the final versus Natus Vincere, NiP was competitive on several maps. On Nuke, they lost important pistol and anti-eco rounds; on Inferno, a strong start (8-0) slipped away due to misplays. 

Snappi admitted that match control in certain rounds could have been better: “I don’t think I controlled the game well enough … small details and key rounds lost it.” 

He also touched on the broader importance of StarSeries Fall in the context of the VRS: every win carried weight, especially as NiP 2-0’d every opponent except NaVi, and although some maps ended with modest scorelines (e.g. 13-8, 13-9), NiP felt in control in those games. 

The team is optimistic: despite losing the final, there are many positives—tournament performance, map pool growth, improvements, and the knowledge that they’re now in a strong position for the Major.