NiP beat Astralis at ESL One Cologne, advance to semi-finals

The Swedes remained in control throughout the entire two-map series against Astralis to lock in a semi-final matchup against Vitality.

The Danes' debut with Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen and Lucas "⁠Bubzkji⁠" Andersen ends in the quarter-finals after an all-around impressive group stage performance, which had many believing Astralis would be among the favorites to go all the way in the ESL One Cologne playoffs bracket.

Ninjas in Pyjamas chose Train as a map they had found success on against the Danish powerhouse in the past and looked to extend their favorable record on it, quickly picking up speed once they won the opening pistol round with a well-timed play towards the inner bombsite.

The Swedes were on course to a big Terrorist half once they broke their opponents' economy in the opening few gunrounds, but es3tag put a halt to their plans with just a Deagle, picking Ninjas in Pyjamas apart all on his lonesome with timely aggression on lower ramp. A key flank from one of the new additions to the Danish squad later on helped Astralis survive the half, but in the end Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser' men maintained a small advantage after the in-game leader and Simon "⁠twist⁠" Eliasson clutched a 1v2 each.

The map was on an even keel once Astralis picked up the second pistol round with a split towards A, but Ninjas in Pyjamas immediately responded with a chaotic forcebuy victory on the same bombsite and went on to gain control of the match. Thanks to a big read in one of the early gunrounds and later a 1v1 clutch from Nicolas "⁠Plopski⁠" Gonzalez Zamora, the Swedish squad picked up the opening map without breaking much of a sweat despite es3tag breaking the 30-kill mark.

The opening half of Inferno mirrored that of Train. Ninjas in Pyjamas were firmly in control early, this time on the CT side, until Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen stepped up to the plate with a spectacular Deagle triple and a 1v3 clutch in the following round to break Björn "⁠THREAT⁠" Pers's squad and end up on just a one-round disadvantage once again.

Ninjas in Pyjamas went on to extend their lead after winning an early back-and-forth forcebuy battle, putting Astralis under pressure as they rallied to a 14-9 scoreline. With their backs against the wall, the Danish team tightened up the defense and strung four rounds together, but their comeback was stopped just short when Ninjas in Pyjamas made a pistol buy work with twist finding a triple and used the opportunity to close the second map immediately after at 16-13.