k0nfig puts post-injury doubts to rest as Astralis beat NIP

A showdown between two debuting lineups saw Astralis take the cake on the back of a massive Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke performance.

In a match between two new rosters, Astralis got off on the better foot at the BLAST Premier Fall Final with recent additions k0nfig and Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer, taking down Ninjas in Pyjamas in a 2-0 series (Nuke 16-7, Overpass 19-16). The Danish side will next face off against Vitality on Thursday at 18:00 in the upper bracket semis, while Ninjas in Pyjamas have fallen to the lower bracket to lock horns with Liquid.

Dubbed "the berserker," k0nfig put up a monstrous showing over the course of the two maps to help his new team secure their first victory in Copenhagen. Averaging a 1.52 rating in his first official match in four and a half months, the 24-year-old put any doubts over his form to rest after he spent some time away from the game due to a wrist injury.

"I think this was the best thing that could happen, honestly. I've been kind of afraid of if I would get back on my level," k0nfig said in a post-match interview on the broadcast. "Maybe I'm just lucky, but two maps in a row can't be lucky, right? (laughs)"

The former Complexity star's exceptional performance was far from the only thing to be learned from the new Astralis' first official appearance, however, as the match gave us insight into the team's intriguing new approach towards the AWP. Surprisingly, the big green gun was seen mainly in the hands of Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander and k0nfig instead of Philip "⁠Lucky⁠" Ewald, who had been the Danish squad's main sniper ever since his addition over the summer.

Despite the big changes, the Danish powerhouse was too much to handle for Ninjas in Pyjamas, who had brought in Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen to replace Linus "⁠LNZ⁠" Holtäng on the roster ahead of the tournament, a swap that the team has admitted would take some getting used to due to the introduction of another Dane to a Swedish-speaking team.

The new Ninjas in Pyjamas combination looked competitive at times throughout the series, but the Terrorist side woes that had plagued them at the PGL Major continued on Nuke, and they had no one come anywhere near matching the individual output of k0nfig.

Another poor start meant Astralis had the upper hand on Overpass, as well, and with k0nfig maintaining the level that he had shown on Nuke, it seemed as if the series would come to a swift finish. A win with just pistols in hand put Ninjas in Pyjamas back in the game, however, and the two teams continued to trade blows to stay on even ground until late in the map.

Astralis eventually strung four in a row to reach match point after turning around several man-disadvantage situations, and although Ninjas in Pyjamas proved difficult to finish off, gla1ve and company got the job done in overtime on the back of a flawless offense.