From LAN team to global brand: 25 years of Ninjas in Pyjamas

In 2000, a group of Swedish youngsters created a Counter-Strike team with one of the most bizarre names ever: Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP). It was cheeky but unforgettable. 

Two decades later, the brand name has become a global presence.

This month, as NIP celebrates its 25th anniversary, the name still echoes across stages and screens from many of esports’ biggest titles.

Led by legends like Emil ‘HeatoN’ Christensen and Tommy ‘Potti’ Ingemarsson, Ninjas in Pyjamas’ journey started in Counter-Strike. However, the company has now evolved into a global entertainment brand, with a roadmap that extends beyond gaming.

From its first LAN tournaments to its listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange, this is the story of NIP over the past 25 years — and why the next 25 years may matter even more.

Long before esports became a global phenomenon, NIP was born as a passion project from a bunch of Counter-Strike players who wanted to play competitively. 

Founded at the turn of the millennium, NIP had its first breakout moment in 2001 at CPL Winter in Dallas, Texas. Led by Potti and HeatoN, the team established itself as a powerhouse in the Swedish scene.

After winning Cyberathlete Professional League’s (CPL) European event in Berlin, the team tested itself against North American competition. Ultimately, the team walked away with the CPL Winter 2001 winner’s trophy, beating Xtreme 3 and securing $50,000 (~£36,459) in prize money. 

In the following year, HeatoN, Potti and Jørgen ‘XeqtR‘ Johannesse signed with European organisation SK Gaming, causing Ninjas in Pyjamas to disappear for a few years. The collaboration was initially a success: in 2003, SK’s Swedish division was considered one of the most dominant teams in the CS scene, having won CPL Summer and Winter, and the World Cyber Games (WCG). 

Changes in the competitive landscape and internal team dynamics began to affect the roster’s performance in the following years. After HeatoN and Potti’s contract with SK ended, NIP reformed in 2005. 

The team was able to maintain competitive relevance in 2006, securing victories at two DreamHack events, NGL-ONE and KODE5. The victories proved that success wasn’t necessarily tied to the brand, but it was a product of the team’s abilities. 

However, NIP’s Counter-Strike comeback hit another hurdle in 2007. Several players, including Abdisamad ‘SpawN’ Mohamed and Robert ‘RobbaN’ Dahlström departed from NIP, and the team began crumbling with inconsistent performances. Financial struggles and underwhelming results led to the disbandment of the Counter-Strike division. 

The real comeback for the Ninjas In Pyjamas came in 2012 with the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), when it signed a new roster that would define the organisation for years to come. 

The lineup of Christopher ‘GeT_RiGhT’ Alesund, Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg, Richard ‘Xizt’ Landström, Adam ‘friberg’ Friberg and Robin ‘Fifflaren’ Johansson completely dominated the scene, registering a record-breaking 87-map win streak, which is still yet to be beaten. 

During the streak, which lasted from August 2012 to April 2013, the team won several trophies, including ESWC 2012, DreamHack Winter 2012 and Copenhagen Games 2013.

However, despite competitive results, including a Major win at Cologne 2014, NIP was still cracking from within, facing structural pains and struggles in commercialising the team. 

By 2016, the team needed not just a reboot — but a reinvention.

Enter Hicham Chahine, a finance veteran and lifelong fan who had once sponsored NIP through a startup. What began as a six-month ‘sabbatical’ from the finance world turned into a full-time commitment to rebuild the organisation. 

“I thought I’d spend six months fixing things. That was nine years ago,” Chahine told Esports Insider. “But esports was evolving — and we had a chance to lead that evolution.”

According to Chahine, he quickly realised the structural mess being NIP was ‘larger than he expected’. However, he also happened to jump into the team during a time when a wave of investments was coming in as esports began its ascent into the mainstream.

“The original vision that I had is that NIP had to be in every single relevant video game on the planet and the biggest market for that video game,” he said. 

Outside of a brief Warcraft 3 stint in 2005, Ninjas in Pyjamas had primarily been Counter-Strike only. That was until its brief venture into League of Legends in 2013, fielding an EU LCS roster after acquiring the slot from Copenhagen Wolves. 

While the first League of Legends experience only lasted two years, it marked a strategic shift — NIP was looking to expand and become a multi-title esports brand, just like several other leading brands like Fnatic and SK Gaming were doing at the time. Chahine decided to maintain that philosophy when he came into the company.

Since then, NIP has slowly expanded to several other games. During NIP’s lifetime, some of these expansions have proved to be unsustainable. It had a five-year tenure in Dota 2 (2015-2020), a six-year stint in Fortnite (2018-2024) and a one-year Overwatch esports run (2016-2017).

However, in the present day, the organisation operates rosters in Dota 2, Rainbow Six, EA FC, mobile titles and even a return to League of Legends via China’s LPL.

Aside from chasing competitive success, Chahine was looking to build a company that could scale — one with infrastructure, IP, and a long-term future in a volatile industry.

“It was [about] creating this robust, sustainable business, which could last 25 years,” he said. “We had several years of profitability at the company, but I wanted the legacy to be meaningful and do something extremely big.”

In 2021, Chahine ventured into a merger with ESV5 in China, a major Chinese esports operator co-founded by Mario Ho, son of tycoon Dr. Stanley Ho. The goal wasn’t just growth — it was global integration.

ESV5 brought a powerful portfolio of esports assets in China, most notably the franchise slot in the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) through its team, Victory Five (V5). ESV5 also incorporated its mobile gaming division, eStar Gaming. 

The merger enabled NIP to re-enter the League of Legends ecosystem, which is considered the most commercially dominant region in esports. 

“We immediately recognised a shared vision that transcended regional boundaries,” said Mario Ho. 

“NIP brought 20+ years of brand legacy, a deeply-rooted fan culture, and proven international operational experience, while ESV5 built significant influence in one of the world’s largest esports markets and access to China’s massive, fast-growing audience. What made this partnership compelling was how our strengths perfectly complemented each other.” 

Despite taking place in a moment of uncertainty during the post-COVID era, the merger had a positive outcome for NIP. Moreover, it was setting up for a second big move in its goal for global expansion. 

Together, Ninjas in Pyjamas and ESV5 became NIP Group. Having established its presence in Europe and China, the company went public in July 2024 on the stock exchange. 

Chahine added: “When it comes to NIP and aspirations for the future, I would say the NASDAQ listing moment, it wasn’t a turning point. It’s more of a catalyst to what is to come because obviously we are up towards $100m in revenue.” 

After going public, the company has since expanded into the Middle East as well as verticals outside of competitive gaming. NIP Group has businesses in talent management, event production, publishing and even hospitality. 

“Our goal is to create new entertainment experiences that resonate with the digital generation,” explained Ho. 

So what comes next? For Chahine, NIP’s goal is clear: push revenue into the nine-figure range, expand into AI and blockchain, and build a fan ecosystem that lasts as long as football clubs.

He emphasised: “[What] I’m very excited about is, hopefully, I will be here to see when you have esports teams being talked about as professional sports teams, like in football, where teams have 50 50-year legacy in history, a 100-year legacy in history.”

To do that, sustainable revenue streams and a well-structured ecosystem are needed for the team to thrive. 

“NIP is a content platform, a youth lifestyle brand and a bridge between cultures,” said Ho. “That’s why we’re developing a diverse portfolio spanning different verticals. These not only complement our core business but also create more sustainable revenue streams.” 

From underground LANs to competing globally at the biggest tournaments of the year, Ninjas in Pyjamas has written—and rewritten—the playbook for what an esports organisation can be. 

After 25 years, it’s one of the few teams that can claim a legacy without being stuck in the past. Only a few esports teams can say the same.  Alongside NIP, the likes of SK Gaming (founded in 1997), Team Liquid (2000), and Fnatic (2004) have survived over two decades of transformation, helping write monumental parts of esports history.

Ninjas in Pyjamas might be a playful name, but the brand is still standing, still evolving and most importantly, still fighting.