The first DreamHack Masters event of the year has announced the next two teams who will compete for a slice of the $250,000 prize pool: Swedish legends Ninjas in Pyjamas and Polish veterans Virtus.Pro will join Fnatic and Astralis and 12 other yet-to-be-decided teams on April 12 in Malmo, Sweden.
The tournament marks the first of two Masters tournaments Dreamhack will be hosting in 2016, with the combined prize pool of both adding up to half a million dollars. Four more teams are yet to be announced, while eight more spots will be available through qualifiers.
Ninjas in Pyjamas are one of the oldest organizations in the game’s history, and will enter the tournament as the hometown favorites alongside fellow Swedes Fnatic. Despite a disappointing 2015, the team retained the majority of its roster for the new year. Jacob “Pyth” Mourujärvi is the only new addition, with the young player replacing the outgoing Aleksi “Allu” Jalli. With their reputation as a tier-one team on the line, the Ninjas will be hoping to get off to a strong start this year.
Virtus.Pro is the oldest unchanged lineup currently in the scene and have remained a top team since its formation. Like the Ninjas, Virtus.Pro were unable to match their previous successes during 2015 and will be hoping for better results in the new year. Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski is the key for the Polish lineup, after stepping up his game in the last few months and becoming widely recognized as one of the best players in the scene.
Image via DreamHack
