Gambit sweep NIP; advance to ESL Pro League S13 grand final

The Russian side is on a 10-series win streak after an impressive performance in the semi-final.

Gambit's 2-0 semi-final win over Ninjas in Pyjamas sees Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov and co. advance to the grand final of ESL Pro League Season 13. Their hot streak in 2021 continues, as after shocking the scene with an IEM Katowice victory and a trophy from the Pinnacle Cup, they are looking to claim another first place finish on Sunday when they face the winner of FURIA - HEROIC.

In the semi-final, Gambit was in control for the majority of their opponents' map pick, controlling the economy on Inferno and rolling to a 16-5 win. It looked like Dust2 was going to be even more one-sided (13-2 half), but the Swedes mustered a T-side comeback only to fall short in the final round for a 16-14 result.

In a post-match interview, Gambit's CEO and interim coach Konstantin "⁠groove⁠" Pikiner talked about their preparation for the match and expressed his hopes for another title: "I hope that we won't stop at this result because the guys have a lot of desire, they are very young, but we still have a lot of experience".

Ninjas in Pyjamas started their map pick of Inferno with a 2-0 lead on the offense, but the close nature of the rounds lured Gambit into a third-round force, which they ended up converting. That kicked off a five-round streak during which Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov was leading the way for his team. In the second part of the half, Ninjas in Pyjamas fired back, but only managed sporadic rounds which meant that Gambit kept control of the economy throughout, finishing 11-4 ahead. After switching to CT, Ninjas in Pyjamas lost the force buy wars and subsequently the map without a single full buy on the defense.

On Dust2, Ninjas in Pyjamas had a hard time getting going. Gambit's pistol round win on the T-side turned into a nine-round streak, with sh1ro boasting a 12-1 K-D. Erik "⁠ztr⁠" Gustafsson and Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser ended that negative trend for Ninjas in Pyjamas's first, but the Russian side bounced back in no time, closing out the half 13-2 ahead. Splitting the A bombsite worked out for the Swedes in the second pistol, starting their unlikely comeback. After they chained nine themselves, things looked scary for nafany and co., but they kept their composure and closed it out, 16-14, to take the 2-0 victory.