Snappi Steps Down From NIP as Search for New IGL Begins

Ninjas in Pyjamas have moved Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer out of their active CS2 lineup, ending the Danish captain’s year-and-a-half spell as the team’s in-game leader.

NIP announced the change on August 31 following what was described as a mutual agreement between the organization and Snappi. No replacement has been unveiled, meaning the team currently has four active players — including temporary addition Roman “n0te” Hamze — and an open IGL position. Snappi remains listed as benched rather than released.

The move had been developing publicly for several days. HLTV reported on August 26 that NIP were exploring new leadership options and could make two changes before their next event: one to replace Snappi and another potentially involving the spot that n0te has occupied on an interim basis since June.

Quick Summary

What Changed?

Snappi has stepped down from NIP’s starting lineup, leaving the organization without a confirmed in-game leader.

The 36-year-old joined NIP in January 2025 as the centerpiece of a major roster rebuild. The organization specifically valued his experience developing younger players after his successful tenure with ENCE, where he led the team to No. 2 in the world and won IEM Dallas 2023.

His departure from the active five does not currently amount to a full separation from NIP. The Dane is listed on the bench, and neither the organization nor the player has announced a new team.

HLTV previously reported that Snappi had indicated he would step aside if NIP wanted to change direction. The outlet also reported that he was open to potentially moving into a different role within Counter-Strike, but no such transition has been officially announced.

NIP have yet to confirm the player who will take over calling duties.

Previous Roster vs New Roster

Previous lineup

• Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer — IGL
• Rasmus “sjuush” Beck — rifler
• Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara — rifler
• Martin “stavn” Lund — primary AWPer
• Roman “n0te” Hamze — stand-in rifler
• Richard “Xizt” Landström — coach

Current lineup

• Rasmus “sjuush” Beck — rifler
• Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara — rifler
• Martin “stavn” Lund — primary AWPer
• Roman “n0te” Hamze — stand-in rifler
• Vacant — IGL
• Richard “Xizt” Landström — coach

Benched: Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer

The distinction around n0te is important. The Belgian youngster was promoted from Young Ninjas in June as a temporary replacement after Artem “cairne” Mushynskyi was benched. NIP initially confirmed him only for upcoming events rather than as a permanent fifth.

Why Did Snappi Leave NIP?

NIP and Snappi described the leadership change as a mutual decision, but the organization has not published a detailed explanation assigning responsibility for the move.

That makes it important not to frame the benching simply as a reaction to individual performance or a particular tournament result.

There was, however, clear competitive context around the decision. Five days before the official announcement, HLTV reported that NIP were already examining the IGL market after a period of mixed results and that Snappi was prepared to step aside if the organization wanted a different direction.

Snappi himself had also spoken openly about NIP’s inconsistency. During the Esports World Cup, he explained that the repeated personnel changes had made it difficult to establish stable routines and consistency within the team.

That does not establish those issues as the official reason for his removal, but they illustrate the environment in which NIP decided to change leadership.

Who Will Replace Snappi?

No replacement has been confirmed.

Before Snappi formally stepped down, HLTV and Dust2 Brasil reported that NIP were already contacting potential in-game leaders. According to that report, the organization made an approach for Linus “LNZ” Holtäng, but MIBR rejected NIP’s offer.

LNZ should therefore not be treated as an incoming NIP player. He remains an MIBR player unless a new agreement is reached and announced.

No other candidate has been reliably established as NIP’s next captain at the time of publication.

The organization may also have a second roster decision to make. n0te remains an interim member of the lineup, and reporting before Snappi’s benching suggested NIP were evaluating whether to permanently fill that fifth-player position ahead of their September schedule.

Why This Change Matters

Replacing Snappi is considerably more complicated than making a conventional one-for-one rifler swap.

NIP are removing the player responsible for their in-game leadership, so the next addition must account for calling structure as well as individual roles. The new captain will also inherit a roster that has undergone substantial changes during 2026.

Most notably, stavn became the team’s primary AWPer in April after r1nkle was benched. NIP officially signed stavn specifically for the sniper role, despite the Dane spending most of his career as a rifler and secondary AWP option.

xKacpersky, meanwhile, has become one of the core pieces of the project. The former Young Ninjas prospect joined the senior team on loan in 2025 before NIP completed a permanent transfer from ENCE in April 2026.

n0te is another young rifler with academy roots and limited top-level experience.

For NIP, that makes the profile of Snappi’s replacement important. The incoming IGL will not simply inherit an established five-player structure; he will have to work with an unconventional primary AWPer, two developing riflers and a lineup that may not yet be finished.

Role Changes and Tactical Impact

The biggest immediate question is whether NIP want another dedicated low-resource IGL in the Snappi mold or a captain who can take more individual responsibility.

That decision could influence the balance of the entire lineup.

stavn’s position appears comparatively clear: NIP brought him in as the primary AWPer, and he has continued in that role since April.

The rifle structure is less settled.

Shortly before his benching, Snappi explained that xKacpersky was still adapting to the team’s changing CT setup around stavn and n0te. He described the Pole’s CT-side development as partly dependent on learning the tendencies of the new players around him.

A new IGL could therefore introduce another period of adjustment.

From an analytical perspective, NIP may benefit from additional firepower if their incoming captain is a stronger individual player, but that would only matter if the team can preserve a functional role distribution. Calling, supportive responsibilities, entry spacing and CT positions still have to fit around stavn, sjuush and xKacpersky.

Those decisions have not been publicly revealed.

How NIP Got Here

Snappi joined Ninjas in Pyjamas in January 2025 alongside sjuush, Michel “ewjerkz” Pinto and Rafael “arrozdoce” Wing, forming the core of another major organizational rebuild. r1nkle was the sole player retained from NIP’s previous lineup.

That version eventually produced some of NIP’s better results of the post-2023 period. Under Snappi, the team reached the StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 grand final, finished inside the top 12 at IEM Cologne 2025 and advanced to Stage 2 of the StarLadder Budapest Major.

The lineup did not remain intact.

ewjerkz was benched in December 2025, while NIP brought in cairne at the beginning of 2026. xKacpersky’s move was then made permanent on April 1.

Two weeks later came a far more structural change. NIP benched r1nkle after failing to qualify for the IEM Cologne Major and brought in stavn as their new primary AWPer.

cairne followed r1nkle to the bench in June, n0te was temporarily promoted from Young Ninjas, and r1nkle was subsequently transferred to G2. cairne later joined fnatic, while ewjerkz left NIP entirely.

Snappi’s benching is therefore the latest in a sequence of changes rather than an isolated move.

Recent Form

NIP’s latest appearance with Snappi came at the Esports World Cup 2026.

They opened with a 5-13 loss to Legacy, recovered by beating BETBOOM 2-0, and were then eliminated by Astralis in a 1-2 series to finish 17th-24th.

Their preceding run was similarly uneven.

NIP finished third at Stake Ranked Episode 3, went 9th-16th in BLAST Bounty Season 2 after losing to paiN, and fell one series short of reaching StarSeries Fall after a 0-2 defeat to magic in the European closed qualifier. Earlier in the summer they placed 12th-14th at XSE Pro League.

There were positive results as well. NIP won Stake Ranked Episode 2 in May and had previously won Roman Imperium Cup VI during their attempt to recover ground in the Valve standings.

As of the latest HLTV team page, NIP sit No. 24 in the HLTV world ranking and No. 28 in Valve's ranking.

Player History and Connections

NIP’s current lineup contains several notable links from previous teams and the organization’s academy structure.

stavn reunited with both sjuush and Xizt when he signed in April. All three were part of HEROIC during one of the organization’s strongest competitive periods.

xKacpersky previously represented Young Ninjas before moving to ENCE and eventually returning to the NIP organization. His 2026 permanent transfer completed a route from academy prospect to established senior-team player.

n0te followed a similar pathway directly from Young Ninjas to the first team, initially on a temporary basis. The academy project itself was subsequently put on hold in July, with the remaining Young Ninjas players and staff released.

These connections mean NIP are not rebuilding from a group of complete strangers, but replacing the captain still creates a fundamental change to how the team operates inside the server.

Interesting Facts

• Snappi spent approximately 19 months with NIP after joining in January 2025.
• He guided NIP to Stage 2 of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, his sixth Major appearance as a player.
• NIP’s current primary AWPer, stavn, spent most of his established tier-one career as a rifler before taking over the AWP in 2026.
• xKacpersky and n0te both came through the Young Ninjas system.
• Snappi is the third member of NIP’s early-2026 lineup to leave the active five since April, following r1nkle and cairne.
• NIP currently have no confirmed IGL, while n0te is still officially presented as an interim player.

What Does the New NIP Roster Look Like?

For now, it is more accurate to call NIP an incomplete roster than a finished new lineup.

sjuush provides extensive tier-one experience, xKacpersky has developed into one of the team's primary young riflers, and stavn gives NIP a high-ceiling individual player in the AWP role. n0te has shown enough promise to receive his opportunity in the main team but remains comparatively inexperienced at this level.

What NIP lack is confirmed leadership.

Until a new IGL is announced, it is impossible to properly evaluate the tactical identity of the lineup. The identity of the captain will affect far more than the fifth name on the team sheet: it could determine the supportive hierarchy, T-side calling style and how much freedom NIP can give their young riflers.

There is also still uncertainty over whether n0te will remain permanently.

When Will the New NIP Roster Debut?

NIP’s next confirmed event is Logitech G Play Connect 2026, a $100,000 LAN scheduled for September 17-23 in Warsaw, Poland. Ninjas in Pyjamas are among the invited teams.

The event therefore gives NIP a little over two weeks from Snappi’s benching to settle their lineup.

No opening opponent has been confirmed, and because NIP have not yet announced their next IGL, it cannot yet be stated with certainty which five players will represent the organization in Warsaw.

NIP have also registered for ROG JOURNEY Autumn, scheduled for October 2-4 in Skövde, Sweden.

What Comes Next?

The priority is straightforward: NIP need an in-game leader.

The organization also has to determine whether n0te has earned a permanent place or whether its search will result in two additions before September.

A move for LNZ was reportedly unsuccessful, and there is currently no confirmed alternative. That leaves NIP’s leadership search open rather than pointing toward an obvious completed transfer.

For Snappi, the immediate future is similarly unresolved. He has stepped away from the active lineup but has not announced a retirement, new organization or permanent move into coaching or management.

After more than a year and a half of building around the Danish captain, NIP now have to construct a new calling structure around a roster that has already been reshaped several times in 2026.

FAQ

What is NIP’s current CS2 roster?

NIP currently have sjuush, xKacpersky, stavn and stand-in n0te on the active lineup, with Xizt as coach. Their fifth position and IGL role are vacant following Snappi’s benching.

Did Snappi leave Ninjas in Pyjamas?

Snappi has stepped down from the active roster and is currently benched. NIP have not announced that he has been released from the organization.

Why did Snappi step down from NIP?

NIP described the decision to change in-game leaders as mutual. No detailed official explanation for the move has been published.

Who will replace Snappi as NIP’s IGL?

No replacement has been announced. NIP were reportedly interested in LNZ, but MIBR rejected their approach according to reporting cited by HLTV.

Who is NIP’s AWPer?

stavn is NIP’s primary AWPer. He joined the organization in April 2026 to replace r1nkle in that position.

When will NIP play next?

Their next confirmed tournament is Logitech G Play Connect 2026 in Warsaw, running from September 17-23. Their new IGL and exact starting five for the event have not yet been confirmed.