NIP stun Astralis on ztr's debut

The 17-year-old put in a solid performance to help his team defeat the current world No.1.

Ninjas in Pyjamas got their BLAST Premier Spring Groups campaign off to a dream start as they moved past Astralis 2-0 in Erik "⁠ztr⁠" Gustafsson's first official appearance for the main squad. The Swedish youngster, who is standing in for the team following Simon "⁠twist⁠" Eliasson's benching, proved his doubters wrong as he was a solid contributor throughout the series.

"He's very calm and collected," Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner said of ztr after the match. "He has surprised me a lot. He doesn't really have experience, but it looks like he does. He steps up in officials, it seems like. He's popping off."

Just like last year, Astralis began the BLAST Premier Spring season with a defeat, a tough blow for a team determined to hold on to the No.1 spot in the world rankings after losing the first title of the year to Natus Vincere. Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander's troops have only themselves to blame for this defeat, though, as they appeared to have both games in the bag before the Ninjas pulled off stunning late comebacks.

The Swedish team came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders, Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser and ztr combining for 24 frags as the Ninjas raced to an 8-2 lead on the T side of Overpass, their own map pick. After such a promising start, though, Ninjas in Pyjamas simply ran out of gas: They couldn't unlock the Astralis defence in the rest of the half and struggled to find openings as the Danes brought the deficit to a solitary round before the break.

The second half began with Ninjas in Pyjamas in the driving seat as they won the opening four rounds with a solid and compact defence. Astralis then picked up the pace and took control of the contest, bringing the scoreline to a 13-13 stalemate and resetting Ninjas in Pyjamas's economy. The game seemed to be heading for an Astralis victory before the Ninjas shockingly managed to win a round with nothing but pistols. That round was enough to turn the game on its head as the Swedish team regained control of proceedings and quickly secured the map.

ztr was the name on everyone's lips as the first half of Inferno came to an end. He showed excellent composure and positioning in the pit area as he helped Ninjas in Pyjamas to go on a 6-0 run right before the break, racking up 12 frags during this period after a highly-contested start to the game.

Astralis came out of the break looking a more resolute side and shut out the Ninjas during the opening six rounds of the break. The Danes seemed to be in control of the game, but just like on Overpass, it all fell apart in the blink of an eye. Ninjas in Pyjamas picked up the pace - REZ pulling off a series of crucial kills - and continuously punched holes in the Astralis defence all the way through to lock down the map.