NiP outclass Astralis; Liquid ease past Cloud9

Ninjas in Pyjamas ended day one of BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen with a 2-0 record after beating Astralis, while Liquid picked up their first points as they overran Cloud9.

It was a nightmare of a first day for Astralis as the Danes face the prospect of elimination from BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen, an event they have never won, following a 0-2 start to the tournament. After being overwhelmed by FaZe in their opening game, Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander's troops were handed another painful defeat, this time by Ninjas in Pyjamas, who put in a near-flawless display on Overpass to end the day with a 2-0 record.

Starting out on the Terrorist side, Astralis were on the back foot from the get-go and struggled to find a way through the water-tight Ninjas in Pyjamas defense for a large portion of the first half. The Danes got their first win on the board 13 rounds into the game and then had gla1ve to thank as the Danish tactician pulled off a 1v2 clutch to prevent a reset.

Astralis carried that late momentum into the second half and picked up the first three rounds to keep themselves in the game. However, their comeback would be short-lived: Ninjas in Pyjamas upped the pace after that and locked down the game in the 23rd round, leaving the Danes on the edge of the precipice.

Over on the secondary stream, Liquid made light work of Cloud9 in a North American derby on Inferno. Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella's side took control of proceedings from the start and romped to a 13-2 lead with a strong CT side performance after preventing their opponents from stringing rounds together.

A Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken ace in the second half pistol piled even more misery on Cloud9's players, who were unable to keep Liquid from running away with the game.