Ninjas in Pyjamas have rewritten the most important seat in their lineup twice inside three days. Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer stepped away from the active roster on August 31 after more than 18 months as in-game leader, and on September 2 the organisation named his replacement at the microphone: German rifler Karim “Krimbo” Moussa, arriving on loan from BIG.
It is the kind of quiet structural move that tends to matter far more than a single series result, and it leaves NIP as one of the harder teams to price in the Counter-Strike betting scene for the rest of the autumn.
Snappi’s tenure ends by mutual agreement
The 36-year-old Dane took over calling duties from Alejandro “alex” Masanet at the start of 2025 and never quite dragged the roster into the tier-one conversation. His best big-event run was a quarter-final at PGL Astana in 2025; the trophies came at a smaller scale, with wins at Fragadelphia Las Vegas, the HyperX Roman Imperium Cup VI and Stake Ranked Episode 2. For most of his time in charge, NIP sat outside the VRS top 20.
His own numbers tell a similar story. Against top-20 opposition Snappi averaged a 0.83 rating across the period — respectable for a dedicated leader a decade ago, thin by 2026 standards, where even IGLs are expected to hold their own in raw output. Both sides framed the exit as mutual, and it follows an earlier HLTV report that NIP had been scouting the market for both a new caller and a permanent answer at stand-in Roman “n0te” Hamze’s position. Snappi has not publicly commented, and he remains benched rather than released.
Krimbo arrives with pedigree but a long layoff
Krimbo is a genuinely interesting pickup on paper. He came up through the BIG academy in March 2022, held a 1.10 rating with the German side, and attended three Majors between 2022 and 2024 — reaching the Legends stage at every one. That is a stronger tier-one résumé than anyone else currently on the NIP roster can point to.
The caveat is obvious: he has barely played. Benched by BIG in October 2025, he has appeared in only three official matches since, standing in for Liquid at IEM Kraków 2026 Stage 1. There, with some irony, he beat NIP before exits to G2 and FUT. Loan length and terms were not disclosed. He also has no meaningful track record as an in-game leader, which is precisely the job he has just been handed.
What it means for the board
The working lineup is now Rasmus “sjuush” Beck, Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara, Martin “stavn” Lund, academy stand-in n0te and Krimbo, with Richard “Xizt” Landström still coaching. That is NIP’s second reshuffle since the summer, after Artem “cairne” Mushynskyi moved to fnatic.
For anyone following prices, the practical read is caution rather than opportunity. A fresh caller with no leadership sample and a nine-month competitive gap makes short-term form models close to useless, so the sharper approach is to let NIP play three or four series before trusting any line on them. If you are opening a new account to follow the tier-two circuit where NIP will be grinding VRS points, it is worth comparing what the leading esports bookmakers actually offer on lower-tier Counter-Strike markets, and reading the small print in our guide to welcome bonuses before committing a deposit.
NIP’s next outings will be the real test of whether this was a rebuild or a reset.
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