NiP ravage FURIA; NRG win opener against Winstrike

Ninjas in Pyjamas won their first match in Katowice against FURIA, 16-6 on Mirage, while NRG beat Winstrike 16-9 on Nuke.

Ninjas in Pyjamas opened up the match with a play on Mirage’s B site, planting an running the time down. They tried to go to the same site on the first gun round, but FURIA were solid in their defense, getting their first round on the board. The Swedes exploded on B once again the following round on a forcebuy, resetting the Brazilian team. The Ninjas then switched it up for the second gun round, and got another round after an A execute.

Ninjas in Pyjamas then got ahold of the pace of the match, winning rounds no matter what site they hit, with FURIA completely overwhelmed. FURIA went down 1-7, but were then able to get back on the board with consecutive rounds, but Ninjas in Pyjamas were once again able to keep a hefty lead after a successful A play, making it 8-3. The Swedes then went on to win the half out, 12-3.

The second half saw FURIA take the pistol round with an effective A play, and then won two rounds before the first buy round, making 6-12. Ninjas in Pyjamas were then able to to defend the B site in a triple-kill round by Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg to keep their lead large. Stopping an A execute from the Brazilians, Ninjas in Pyjamas made it to match point before closing it out 16-6 to take their first victory.

A plant on the inner site of Nuke paid dividends for NRG after Ethan "⁠Ethan⁠" Arnold and Vincent "⁠Brehze⁠" Cayonte got doubles to defend the bomb. Winstrike were then able to take the third round to keep it close, but NRG came out with a fast-paced split execute on the inner site to stay in control of the early game. The American squad then started to run away with the map as Winstrike struggled to contain NRG’s attacks.

Winstrike were able to get back on the board thanks to a good pistol buy round, as the Desert Eagles paved the way. A double by David "⁠n0rb3r7⁠" Danielyan on ramp helped his team, who played aggressive in radio, gave Winstrike another round, as the CIS side made their way back to a 6-6 tie. With 7-7 on the board, NRG planted in the inner site, but a solid retake by the CTs gave Winstrike an 8-7 lead at the half.

An opening frag by Damian "⁠daps⁠" Steele and a double by Jacob "⁠FugLy⁠" Medina opened the way for NRG to win the second pistol round despite Winstrike making it to the B site and planting the bomb. The American squad then took the reins of the match putting up a wall on the CT side. Down 8-14, Winstrike were able to win a forcebuy on the B site off of the back of a big play by Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov, but it was too little too late as NRG shut the Ts down to get on match point. Finally, it was FugLy who won a 1vs1 against Georgi "⁠WorldEdit⁠" Yaskin the following round to make it 16-9.