ESL Pro League S9 group B day 2 recap

The second day of ESL Pro League S9 group B in the two regions has been finalized, with devils.one defeating Ninjas in Pyjamas being the biggest result of the day.

FaZe kicked off the action on the European side, going into the pick of HEROIC, Overpass, and impressing on the CT side straight away. After the score was 9-4, HEROIC mustered two more rounds, but, powered by Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard, FaZe overwhelmed them on the T side to claim the map comfortably, 16-8.

Just like in their series against Ninjas in Pyjamas yesterday, HEROIC battled back on their opponents' map pick, this time it being Dust2. FaZe had the initial lead, 4-1, after winning a force buy, but it was the Danish side that was in control for the rest of the map, with AWPer Daniel "⁠mertz⁠" Mertz and youngster Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund doing the majority of the heavy lifting in the 16-11 win.

The series was decided on Mirage, where FaZe built up a massive, 8-1 lead on the CT side, but the Danes fought back at the end of the half to give themselves a chance of a comeback, 9-6. Still, another inspired performance from rain and Ladislav "⁠GuardiaN⁠" Kovács chiming in saw FaZe secure the map 16-8 and the series 2-1.

devils.one picked Mirage against Ninjas in Pyjamas and a back-and-forth game followed, with neither team able to chain together more than four rounds throughout it. That seemingly favored the underdogs, devils.one, who brawled their way to a 16-13 victory.

The Poles continued with that momentum on Overpass, grabbing a 9-1 lead right from the start, and it seemed like they could be ending the series early. However, Ninjas in Pyjamas woke up towards the end of their T-side, managing five rounds, and then put up a brick wall as CTs. devils.one were unable to even get the bomb down for 10 rounds straight, seeing the series go to the decider.

On Nuke, Ninjas in Pyjamas claimed the first round on the offense, but another force buy saw devils.one take the early lead, 7-2. Then the game became a brawl, similarly to the opening map of Mirage, with Ninjas in Pyjamas getting on a five-round streak to reach match point, 15-12. However, they were unable to convert, devils.one forced overtime and eventually completed the upset, 19-17.

After losing to Ghost in their initial game, Complexity faced Liquid and managed to impress on their map pick, Cache. Shahzeb "⁠ShahZaM⁠" Khan was leading the charge as they managed seven rounds on the defensive side, but completely took control of the game as Terrorists to claim the first map 16-12.

The next two maps were complete blowouts in favor of Liquid, though. On Dust2, Complexity mustered just two CT side rounds and their opponents easily converted the map win after the switch (16-2), with Inferno being a similar case. An inspired Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken spearheaded Liquid to a 13-2 offensive half which was concluded as a 16-3 to give Liquid their second win at ESL Pro League.

In the last match of the day, Ghost took on Lazarus, with the latter team picking Inferno to start it off. Braxton "⁠swag⁠" Pierce and co. grabbed a 4-0 lead after winning the pistol, but the majority of the rifle rounds went Ghost's way, giving them a 9-6 lead. Lazarus got a foothold into the match after winning the early game as CT, but Joshua "⁠steel⁠" Nissan's side was able to close it out after the score was equalized, going from 11-11 to 16-11.

A slow start to Overpass didn't help Lazarus' cause, as Ghost managed a big, 7-3 lead on the offensive side of their map pick. Michael "⁠dapr⁠" Gulino and co. managed to end the half on a high, winning four out of five rounds, and then added three more after the switch thanks to the pistol. Lazarus held a 10-8 lead at that point, but similarly to the first map, Ghost then took control of the game and closed it out confidently, 16-11.

The last four matches of ESL Pro League S9 will be played today. In Europe, FaZe are looking to confirm the first spot in the group with a win over Ninjas in Pyjamas, while the rest is up in the air, with a potential three-way tie on the cards.

In Americas, the winner of Ghost - Liquid will claim an ESL Pro League Finals spot, while Lazarus and Complexity will face off in a fight for survival.