On June 30, Ninjas in Pyjamas confirmed the official parting with Michel "ewjerkz" Pinto. The Portuguese AWPer had been on the bench since December 2025 — at that time, NIP replaced him with Artem "cairne" Mushynskyi, who came from Inner Circle. Negotiations with paiN Gaming did not yield results, and all this time ewjerkz formally remained an employee of the organization.
ewjerkz joined NIP from SAW in early 2025 along with compatriot Rafael "arrozdoce" Wing. The SAW duo failed to thrive in the new international environment. ewjerkz faced issues with his role: the organization expected him to deliver aggressive star plays in the space, but his numbers dropped — his rating over the last three months in the roster fell to 1.00.
ewjerkz had a long career in SAW, where he was one of the best AWPer's on the Iberian Peninsula and one of the top players in Europe. His departure from NIP marks the closing of a challenging chapter. Now, the 25-year-old Portuguese player must find a new project in the hottest transfer period of summer 2026.
ewjerkzXIt was an important time. Moving on.
