NiP take Astralis's vacant spot at EPICENTER 2018

Ninjas in Pyjamas have just been announced as the team to fill in for Astralis's abscence at EPICENTER 2018 in Moscow, Russia.

NiP take the final spot reserved for five invited teams, as the remaining organisations taking part in the 8-team competition will fill three Wild Card slots.

We are pleased to announce our participation in the @epicentergg 2018 tournament held in Moscow, Russia 🇷🇺. Eight of the best teams in the world will compete for $300,000 in the mighty Park of Legends Ice Palace Arena.📰 https://t.co/4oQxjozPZc#GONINJAS #CSGO pic.twitter.com/SUV14ls77m

— 🎅 Santas in Pyjamas 🇸🇪 (@NiPGaming) October 12, 2018

Danish juggernauts Astralis confirmed at the start of this month that they would be pulling out of the competition, citing "a massive traveling schedule". The Danes are scheduled to play in the BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen, Nov. 2-3, which begins just four days after EPICENTER concludes. Right after that, they'll fly for IEM Chicago (an event part of the Intel Grand Slam circuit), Nov. 6-11, and then potentially to the ECS Grand Finals in Arlington, USA, Nov. 22-25, provided they make top 4 in the regular season.

NiP's presence means that we now know the full roster of invited teams taking part at the event:

The legendary Swedish team @NiPGaming have been invited to #EPICENTER!NiP is among the oldest and most awarded esports organizations. Now they're getting ready to fight for their first EPICENTER title. We wish them good luck and can’t wait to see these boys in Moscow!🍺#epicgg pic.twitter.com/jvvlbqwAZS

— EPICENTER (@epicentergg) October 12, 2018

EPICENTER will take place at the Park of Legends Ice Palace Arena on Oct. 22-28. You can follow all the action from EPICENTER 2018 at our event hub!