Astralis brush aside NiP to reach grand final in Riffa

Astralis are the first finalist of the BLAST Pro Series 2019 Global Final after beating Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0 in the upper bracket final of the double-elimination tournament.

The Danes are just one victory away from ending 2019 with yet another title after a one-sided match against Ninjas in Pyjamas. The Swedish team, fresh off a 2-0 success over FaZe, pinned all their hopes on a Train pick, but the gamble did not pay off as Astralis came out on top with a very strong offensive performance before heading into Nuke, where there was no stopping them.

Ninjas in Pyjamas were in the lead just one round over the course of this best-of-three series, which goes to show the chasm between the two sides and just how superior Astralis were. The Swedes, who for the fifth time in a row failed to take a map off the Danes in a series, will fight for their tournament life in the consolidation final against the winner of today's match between Liquid and FaZe.

Astralis made a flying start to the game on Train, where they strolled to an 8-1 lead on the CT side. Ninjas in Pyjamas were struggling to find holes in the Astralis defense and kept losing all aim duels, but they gathered themselves and took control of proceedings during what was left of the half. Even with a double AWP setup, the Danes were unable to keep the Ninjas at bay, with Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz getting just three frags to his name in the last six rounds on the defense.

Astralis brought that streak to a swift conclusion with a near-flawless pistol round in the second half, only to be caught off-guard by the Ninjas' Scouts and the Desert Eagle of Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner, who picked up four frags in the ladder room. But there would be no respite for Ninjas in Pyjamas as the Danes immediately regained control of the game on a force buy, riding that momentum to a 13-8 lead.

With no room for error, Ninjas in Pyjamas tightened up and put together a string of rounds, but it all turned out to be in vain as Astralis took center stage once again and quickly put the game to bed.

Just like on Train, Ninjas in Pyjamas were on the back foot from the outset as Astralis enjoyed a scintillating start on the Terrorist side despite losing the pistol round. They offered no breathing room to the Ninjas, who were limited to just five rounds in the half.

Ninjas in Pyjamas kept their hopes alive as they took the pistol round, but more misery was to come as Astralis hit back instantly. The Danes' dominance was absolute and they finished on a high, securing the map without even letting their opponents reach double digits.