MIBR advance to lower bracket semi-final at expense of NiP

MIBR successfully advance to the lower bracket semi-finals of StarSeries i-League Season 8 after besting Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-1.

The series kicked off on MIBR's map pick, Train, where the Brazilian squad got a swimming start on the T side off the back of a converted pistol round. Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo and company were persistent in their efforts to secure a strong offensive half, as Ninjas in Pyjamas only sporadically showed up, largely thanks to individual efforts, posting a total of four rounds to MIBR's 11 come half time.

Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner ensured a string of early successes with a Glock triple kill in the opening round of the second half, initiating Ninjas in Pyjamas's comeback on Train. The duo of Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo and Vito "⁠kNgV-⁠" Giuseppe secured MIBR's first round on the defence, and played a crucial role in halting a developing momentum for the Swedes. Ensuing rounds saw push and pull between the two teams, where a round surplus in favour of the Brazilians meant the squad came out on top, emerging with map point in hand. Financial struggles for the Ts in the concluding rounds spelled a loss, as MIBR secured map one 16-9.

Jonas "⁠Lekr0⁠" Olofsson exploded onto Inferno with a USP-S quad kill on the Ninjas' CT pistol round, only for MIBR's Lucas "⁠LUCAS1⁠" Teles and TACO to put out his bonfire with a force buy victory in the follower. The Brazilians surpassed their adversaries to a 3-1 lead, but a quad kill from Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg set things back on track for Ninjas in Pyjamas. The Swedes confidently closed out their defensive, disallowing a single bomb plant in the eight ensuing rounds. It was on LUCAS1 to create space for his team to claw a couple back before half time, as a quad kill, coupled with a 1v2 clutch meant a 5-10 conclusion for MIBR.

The Brazilian defence experienced an identical momentum snatch to what they dealt out in the initial half, as Lekr0 showed up Deagle blazing in a pistol buy, dispatching four members of MIBR to assume control of affairs. Ninjas in Pyjamas persisted in the following three rounds, and after a single falter cruised to a map victory, posting a confident 16-7 scoreline on Inferno.

REZ and Lekr0 once more put up pivotal performances for Ninjas in Pyjamas, allowing the team an early lead on the T side post-pistol. An AWP triple kill from kNgV- in MIBR's first buy round shook the Ninjas, and after seemingly stabilising, the Swedes conceded their lead, allowing the CTs to equalise at four rounds apiece. The initial half proceeded as a rumble, culminating in slight favour of MIBR at 8-7.

A team effort from FalleN and Fernando "⁠fer⁠" Alvarenga ensured the latter pistol round for MIBR, and with a two-round follow-up, the Brazilians found themselves developing a healthy surplus. Ninjas in Pyjamas very nearly managed to shunt the offense on their first rifle round, but faltered in a 1v2 against FalleN. As a result the T's dominance kept rolling all the way to map and series point, with an eight-round deficit for Ninjas in Pyjamas to overcome to ensure overtime. In a valiant effort, the Swedes managed to offset their demise by five rounds, subsequently falling to an A fake from MIBR that saw the Brazilians advance into the next round of the lower bracket at 16-12.