Nikola “LEGIJA” Ninić, a German-Serbian coach and retired professional Counter-Strike player, has made the move to VALORANT, taking the reins in Bleed, a European-Singaporean team, the organization announced today.
The 31-year-old was last seen coaching BIG as an interim coach in November 2021. He has vast experience in FPS, having competed in Counter-Strike 1.6 in 2012 and played for CS:GO teams such as MOUZ, NRG, BIG, and Envy. During all of his years in CS:GO, from 2012 to 2021, he took coaching roles in BIG, Team Kinguin, and Envy.
Bleed, an organization based in Singapore, has been fielding a team in VALORANT since September 2021 and started making European signings last December, with the acquisitions of veteran Swedish FPS player Jacob “pyth” Mourujärvi and young Swedish in-game leader Max “maxie” Lönström.
With these European signings, especially the experienced pyth and LEGIJA, Bleed is aiming to become one of the best contenders in VCT Southeast Asia (SEA) in 2022. The Singaporean team did not compete in the circuit last year, having only attended a few minor VALORANT events in the region.
Bleed have not played official matches with pyth and maxie yet. The European-Singaporean squad currently has eight players on its roster, and it’s unclear whether the organization will let some of them go or if it will look to experiment with different starting lineups throughout the season.
