Ninjas in Pyjamas have announced the signing of their new toplaner, Mak "Solokill" Fu Keung, via a post on Weibo. Currently sitting at 2-7 in the Ascend group of LPL Split 2, NIP are guaranteed a spot in the upcoming Summer Split—unlike the two bottom teams of the Nirvana group—but will likely have to go through the Play-In stage to reach the Playoffs. On a six-series losing streak, the team hopes Solokill’s arrival will help turn things around. The future of Deng "shanji" Zi-Jian remains unclear, as the organization has yet to comment on his status.

a year of both wins and setback

With their new roster, NIP finished first in their group during Split 1, winning all three BO5 series. They were then eliminated from the playoffs by the defending LPL champions, Top Esports. For the placement phase of Split 2, they struggled a bit more, finishing the BO1 phase with a 3-3 record, narrowly ahead of FunPlus Phoenix, just enough to secure a spot in the Ascend group. However, things have not gone as planned so far.

Solokill spent the year 2024 with EDward Gaming, where things went poorly. The team finished 16th in the Spring Split with only three wins and 13 losses. In the Summer Split, they found themselves in the Nirvana group, finishing 5th and narrowly missing the 4th spot, which would have qualified them for the Play-In phase. The Hong Konger toplaner was left without a team for Winter 2025 and did not play that split. He now returns to competition with Ninjas in Pyjamas.

It’s worth noting that he will be reunited with his former AD Carry, Hu "Leave" Hong-Chao, with whom he played in both 2022 and 2024 at EDG, in the LPL as well as the LDL (the Chinese second division where academy teams compete). There are currently nine BO3 matches left to play against all the teams in the Ascend group, with the goal of securing 4th place, which would guarantee direct qualification for the playoffs.

NIP's full roster :

Toplane: Mak "Solokill" Fu Keung/Deng "shanji" Zi-Jian
Jungle: Mao "Aki" An
Midlane: Kim "Doinb" Tae-sang
AD Carry: Hu "Leave" Hong-Chao
Support: Guo "ppgod" Peng