Swedish team Ninjas in Pyjamas announced the launch of their talent search program «Path of Ninja». In collaboration with a Swedish CS: GO league called Elitserien, they will be sourcing, recruiting and supporting young players. After each Elitserien season, two or three players who perform particularly well will receive an invitation to the program. Its main goal – is to bridge the gap between young cyber athletes and the professional scene.
The players will be selected by a jury that includes Potti – player of the first Ninjas in Pyjamas squad and one of the founders of the organization, current NiP coach Björn «THREAT» Pers, team operations director Jonas Gundersen, as well as Frederik «JAEGARN» Andersson from Area Academy.
Jonas Gundersen notes that practices have already been established in modern cybersport to help promote beginners – youth lineups and six-man rosters. However, the talent acquisition program will help strengthen this: «We see the need to support the underlying ecosystem and set the stage for a youth team in the future». Potti explains that he wants to replicate the mechanism for recruiting promising players that made Ninjas in Pyjamas initially successful.