Cloud9 beat NiP, 2-1, to semis

Ninjas in Pyjamas started out defending on Train, and a quad kill round by Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg stopped Cloud9 on their tracks as they tried to execute on the A site to give the Swedes the first round. After winning both anti-ecos, Ninjas in Pyjamas were unable to take the first gun round.

After losing a second round, Ninjas in Pyjamas were then able to win a pistol round as William "⁠draken⁠" Sundin got a double entry with the p250 and Christopher "⁠GeT_RiGhT⁠" Alesund got a double with a saved AK-47 to stay in the lead, 4-2. It was finally the Ninjas who were able to take control of the half, giving up just three scattered rounds for a 10-5 partial.

The second half started with Cloud9 winning their CT side pistol round, and following it up with two anti-ecos and a gun round sandwiched in between, to shorten the distance to 9-10. Cloud9 quickly took the lead as all of the North American players on the server stepped up their game, shutting Ninjas in Pyjamas down to take a 12-10 lead and make the Swedes take a timeout.

Up 13-10, Mike "⁠shroud⁠" Grzesiek got an incredible after plant triple to clutch out the round and decimate the Swedes’ morale. Following it up by stopping a B rush by Ninjas in Pyjamas, Cloud9 got on map point and eventually closed it out, 16-10.

n0thing and co. got to a flying start winning Train

Once again, Ninjas in Pyjamas were able to win the pistol round, but this time on the attacking side on Cache. This time around, though, Cloud9 won the second round with two big entries by Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip, who got a double entry with Desert Eagle headshots and closed the round out with a kill with the AK-47.

The match quickly evened out, as both teams got four rounds on the board, but Ninjas in Pyjamas were able to decompose Cloud9’s defenses and once again run away with a 10-5 partial, a mirror image of the first map. A quad kill by Timothy "⁠autimatic⁠" Ta on the A site gave his team the first round of the second half. Cloud9 then won the anti-ecos and the first gun round, planting on B after entrying and making the Ninjas in Pyjamas players call to save their weapons for the following round.

The save payed off, though, as Ninjas in Pyjamas shut Cloud9 down on the second gun round to stop the North American side from gaining the momentum that let them come back on Train. Down 9-13, Cloud9 were finally able to get into double digits planting on a 4vs2 and prompting Ninjas in Pyjamas to save, 13-10.

A double kill from f0rest in the next round and a strong defense on B by GeT_RiGhT and Richard "⁠Xizt⁠" Landström on the rotation stopped Cloud9 on their tracks, and GeT_RiGhT pulled a vintage spray with the AK from vents in the following round, taking out three players in B halls, to get his team to match point. Although the North American side were able to get one more round, they were unable to get past Ninjas in Pyjamas’s wall, as the Swedes took it to the third map, winning Cache, 16-11.

NiP were unable to bring it back on the decider, Cobblestone

The third map, Cobblestone, started with Cloud9 winning the pistol round, despite a quad kill by draken, who despite eliminating all opposition was too late to defuse the bomb. After losing an eco, Ninjas in Pyjamas were able to get on the board winning the second one, with two Desert Eagle kills by f0rest and two USP-S kills by draken.

Ninjas in Pyjamas were unable to follow it up, though, as Cloud9 were able to make it onto the B site and plant on a force buy, putting Ninjas in Pyjamas back in economic troubles. The match quickly became a brawl, as Ninjas in Pyjamas’s f0rest and Xizt retook a 2vs3 after plant on the A site, but then lost the following round against a B execute from the North Americans.

The match quickly got lopsided, though, as both teams started making mistakes and playing some sloppy Counter-Strike, but it was Cloud9 who profited from this chaos, taking the half 10-5.

A triple by autimatic from Danger put Ninjas in Pyjamas against the corner, further increasing the North American team’s lead. Ninjas in Pyjamas won the first gun round, to bring it to 13-6, but Cloud9 immediately reacted and reset Ninjas in Pyjamas, going on to win 16-6 and clinch a spot in the playoffs.

ESL One Cologne 2017Best of 3

Ninjas in Pyjamas

Matchpage

1

2

7th July 2017

Cloud9

10

Train

16

16

Cache

11

6

Cobblestone

16

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundGeT_RiGhT	66 - 52	+14	100.6	70.7%	1.28
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	58 - 53	+5	79.2	70.7%	1.04
William 'draken' Sundindraken	45 - 53	-8	66.3	68.0%	0.98
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	40 - 55	-15	64.1	64.0%	0.79
Richard 'Xizt' LandströmXizt	40 - 59	-19	58.0	62.7%	0.75

Cloud9	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Tyler 'Skadoodle' LathamSkadoodle	61 - 46	+15	84.8	74.7%	1.27
Mike 'shroud' Grzesiekshroud	52 - 49	+3	77.6	68.0%	1.13
Timothy 'autimatic' Taautimatic	60 - 57	+3	83.2	73.3%	1.13
Jake 'Stewie2K' YipStewie2K	48 - 49	-1	75.9	70.7%	1.07
Jordan 'n0thing' Gilbertn0thing	51 - 49	+2	68.1	76.0%	1.01