G2 eliminate home crowd favourites NIP from PGL Stockholm

Despite having the audience behind them, Ninjas in Pyjamas never really got going in this series as a Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač-powered G2 took a 2-0 victory.

G2 booked their spot in the semi-finals of the Stockholm Major with a convincing 2-0 victory over Ninjas in Pyjamas, besting the Swedes 16-11 on Inferno and 16-8 on Mirage. NiKo was predictably the star man for G2, but the entire team produced impact frags when needed to ensure a clean series for the European squad.

"We are just as confident as we were before this game, nothing is going to change just because we beat NIP," NiKo said when looking forward to the semi-final in the post-match interview. "The job is not done, and we know that it can go wrong very fast, especially with the crowd. We are just here to fight, give our best, and we will see what happens."

G2 will take on the Danes of HEROIC in their semi-final, taking place on Saturday at 16:30 .

The first map of the series was the Swede's pick of Inferno, and it was a disaster for the home side. The first half was a 12-3 stomp, G2 coming out of the gates on their CT side firing on all cylinders, in particular NiKo who picked up 23 frags in the half. Even when Ninjas in Pyjamas did manage to win a round, such as when Linus "⁠LNZ⁠" Holtäng won them a 3v2 single-handedly early in the game, they were never able to string rounds together and challenge the G2 economy.

The Ninjas gave themselves a lifeline by taking the second half pistol round and a follow up, but they were immediately pegged back with a disappointing loss in a 5v3 scenario to put G2 on 13. At this point Ninjas in Pyjamas began to display the prowess on the CT side of Inferno that had crushed Astralis earlier in the tournament, playing out a very structured and safe defence in contrast to the aggressive approach of G2.

The Swede's managed to grind the score all the way back to 13-11 in convincing fashion, and it seemed we may be in for an epic comeback. NiKo decided to awaken again after picking up a single frag in the second half, grabbing two immediate entries on banana to get the boys in black back on the scoreboard. With their star player back in the game, G2 finally got over the line 16-11, Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač getting an impressive triple kill to end the map before mocking the Ninjas in Pyjamas-biased crowd, having been on the receiving end of some booing for his part in G2's victory.

The second map, G2's pick of Mirage, began as a tightly fought battle. With Ninjas in Pyjamas on the defensive side it was a back and forth affair, many of the rounds coming down to individual aim duels rather than any strategic or tactical factors. Once we got to 3-3 however, G2 began to pull away, their methodical approach to the T side slowly choking out the Ninjas with the odd faster-paced round keeping the Swedes on their toes. This continued to a 9-6 half, Ninjas in Pyjamas grabbing the odd round to give themselves a chance going into their T side.

Ninjas in Pyjamas opened the second half with a pistol win and follow up round, threatening to tie up the game instantly as G2 were forced to eco. Unfortunately the Swedes did not account for NiKo's deagle, the Bosnian picking up a triple kill to secure an unlikely round for his squad, and crushing Ninjas in Pyjamas's mental fortitude.

The Ninjas simply couldn't recover, despite picking up a few more rounds later in the half, and bowed out of the Major with an 11-16 loss. It will be especially disappointing for Ninjas in Pyjamas not only because they were knocked out in front of a home crowd, but because of the manner of the defeat.