Astralis advance to ESL Pro League S11 stage 2; Vitality, NiP through to play-in

Astralis have advanced to the second stage of ESL Pro League Season 11 Europe, while Vitality and Ninjas in Pyjamas have been given a second chance via the play-in stage.

The concluding round of Group A matches in ESL Pro League Europe had Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis and Vitality all on a 3-1 record, with Spirit, GODSENT and ENCE ranked fourth through sixth. Of the bottom three, only the CIS-based squad was in contention for a spot in the second group stage, hinged on a victory against GODSENT, as well as a loss for Vitality in their concluding face-off against Astralis.

As the matches panned out, the series between the two group favorites would determine the squad to move directly into the next stage. Initially, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Spirit were also in contention for play-in spots, and in the case of the Swedes even direct advancement, but the Swedes' surprising loss to struggling ENCE struck off this possibility.

The series between Astralis and Vitality kicked off to a shaky start for Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire and his men, as their map pick, Dust2, was conceded off the back of a poor CT-side performance that saw the Frenchmen pick up as few as four rounds. Retaliation came on Astralis' map pick, Overpass, where the Frenchmen scraped an overtime victory. Deciding the outcome of the series was Nuke, where after securing a narrow 8-7 lead come the end of their T side, Astralis kept a water-tight defense that shut out Vitality despite Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut's best efforts.

After losing their first four matches in the group stage, ENCE did not want to go down without a fight and denied Ninjas in Pyjamas the top spot in the group. With this victory, which seemed to surprise ENCE's own players, the Finnish side brought an end to a losing streak that stretched back to January 10.

The series kicked off to a heavily-contested Train, where ENCE posted a solid 8-7 T side half to start things off and followed that up with a strong defensive performance. Ninjas in Pyjamas upped the ante on Overpass, where they dominated on the offense by racking up 11 rounds before putting up a flawless CT side. Inferno was the deciding map of the series, where back-to-back pistol round victories gave ENCE the competitive edge needed to fruitfully commence both halves. A 10-5 T performance was followed up by a water-tight defence as only three rounds slipped Ninjas in Pyjamas's way.

The briefest series of the concluding round was one between GODSENT and Spirit, with Kevin "⁠kRYSTAL⁠" Amend's side picking up their second victory of the tournament to finish the group stage in fourth place.

Spirit were off to a promising start on their map pick, Inferno, as they went into the CT side chasing just a one-round deficit, but their defense was ruthlessly prised apart by GODSENT in the second half, with Pavle "⁠Maden⁠" Bošković finishing the map with a 1.56 rating. The Montenegrin talent continued his rich vein of form on Nuke, leading the charge for his team in a keenly-contested game that almost went the full distance.

Final standings:

1. Astralis (second group stage)
2. Vitality (play-in)
3. Ninjas in Pyjamas (play-in)
4. GODSENT
5. Spirit
6. ENCE