Peter “ppd” Dager has decided to retire from professional Dota 2, the Ninjas in Pyjamas captain announced today. Ppd has been active in competitive Dota since 2013, representing NiP, Evil Geniuses, and OpTic Gaming throughout his career. His future plans are currently unknown, though he does hold esports administration and on-air talent experience.
Peter “ppd” Dager joined Evil Geniuses in February of 2014, gaining his first break into the upper echelon of competitive Dota. The team found quick success, winning The Summit and placing second at ESL One Frankfurt 2014 before finishing third at The International. Moving into 2015, ppd led Evil Geniuses and rookie Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan to victories at the Dota 2 Asia Championships and The International.
Ppd continued to compete with Evil Geniuses throughout the following season, placing third at the Frankfurt and Shanghai Majors, and The International 2016. He left the team after TI6 to take on an administrative role within the Evil Geniuses organization, and became CEO in December of that year. He stepped down from the position in August of 2017, and returned to a competitive playing career.
Ppd bounced around teams before landing with OpTic Gaming in September of 2017. The team found some international success, placing second at ESL One Birmingham and 5-6th at the China Dota 2 Supermajor under ppd’s leadership. OpTic were then eliminated from The International 2018 in 7-8th place, and the team was released from the organization shortly after. Ppd signed with Ninjas in Pyjamas a few weeks later.
Now leading NiP, ppd finished fourth at the Kuala Lumpur Major and later 5-6th at the MDL Disneyland Paris Major. The team qualified for The International 2019 after placing eighth in the Dota Pro Circuit standings, and were eliminated from the $34 million event in last place. Ppd continued with Ninjas in Pyjamas into the 2020 Circuit, though the team failed to qualify for the first two Majors of the season. They qualified for the ESL One Los Angeles Major, and were later invited to the revamped online event, eventually exiting the tournament in 13-14th place.
Ppd announced his retirement in a TwitLonger, where he states that he is “looking for something else that I do not think I can find in my current position.” He explains that he is pursuing personal growth as opposed to competition. “I don’t feel bad about it as I believe change is healthy and I am eager to do something amazing and new in my 30s.”
