Vitality win IEM Winter with 3-0 sweep of NIP

With Vitality set to make big changes in the near future, and Ninjas in Pyjamas playing with a stand-in, who will rise above the context and claim their first big title of the year?

19:32 - apEX emphasises how much the trophy means to him and his team in the post-match interview:

"That's our first trophy of 2021, we gave a lot to get one. Our third final of the year, our first LAN win together, which is really important. I feel really good for us, all the work we did together for so long, it just feels really good."

19:27 - It's over! Vitality take the IEM Winter trophy! (Vitality 16 - 13 NIP)

They faltered at 15-10, losing to a force buy due to not checking their corners when pushing mini, but they get the job done.

It was YET ANOTHER 2vX round that broke NIP at 14-10, once again from ZywOo and shox:

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19:18 - Vitality now at 14-10, marching slowly towards the trophy

It feels like it's only a matter of time now.

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19:11 - Vitality take 12-9 lead, looking to sweep grand final

NIP manage to take a round off the back of Vitality overthinking a late round call in a 3v3, faking lower where only one defender resided to go back upper and run into two.

A top site pop immediately after bears fruit for the Frenchmen, and they are looking like they may just take this map and the series. It's now or never for the Swedes.

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19:03 - NIP once again lose to a force buy after winning the pistol (Vitality 10 - 8 NIP)

Welp, the Frenchmen do it again. I won't describe this one for you, just watch:

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18:53 - NIP manage to claw their way to 7 rounds, giving them a hope going into the second half (Vitality 8 - 7 NIP)

misutaaa dies pushing through a smoke at ramp in round 12, giving NIP a round, and probably allowing the Swedes to recover in the half.

An aggressive yard push from Vitality in the 14th round made sure they at least went in to their T side with a lead, but they gave up a round to a NIP force in the final round of the half.

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18:43 - NIP grab three on the bounce, before Vitality get one in return, but NIP strike right back (Vitality 6 - 4 NIP)

NIP threaten to put together a dangerous half, and they have forced Vitality onto a weak buy. Upping the tempo seems to have worked for the Ninjas.

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18:34 - Vitality jump out to quick 5-0 lead

Oh dear, not ideal for phzy there. He ends up in a 1v1 clutch vs ZywOo, gets the bomb down on the A site but goes for a round the world play, running through ramp to get to heaven.

ZywOo simply sticks the bomb... unfortunate.

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18:26 - The Nuke pistol kicks off, with NIP on the T side

A tough ask for the Ninjas as they start on the T side of Nuke.

We really need REZ to turn up for NIP, he has been very quiet so far in this grand final. Can he do it?

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18:11 - We go to Nuke as Vitality take Dust2 16-10

NIP end this map, as they did the first, with a whimper. Both have followed a similar formula: NIP lose the pistol and start poorly, claw their way back into the first half to take a lead into the second. There, they fall apart.

The only T side round they managed in this map was when Vitality opted into a 4v4 brawl at long.

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18:05 - Vitality take solid lead, second half threatening to slip away from NIP (Vitality - 14 - 10 NIP)

NIP really haven't managed to get going in the second half, much like on Inferno, the Frenchmen's double AWP setup really stopping the Swedes in their tracks. They have won a single round to Vitality's eight. Not good enough.

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17:58 - Vitality win pistol and convert, before NIP take first gun round to maintain slim lead (Vitality 9 - 10 NIP)

A bizarre, hard-headed battle between most of both teams ensues at long, which the Swedes come out of on top. Weird first gun round.

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17:49 - Ninjas take lead into the half at they put up a solid defence on Dust2

Some excellent utility usage from hampus, as well as often having the correct setup for the attack, earn NIP a 9-6 lead at the half of the second map.

We haven't seen too much of ZywOo yet this map, and so his awakening could come at any moment and crush the Swede's spirits. Will it happen? Let's find out.

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17:42 - Vitality win vital round to take lead and break NIP economy, but NIP fight back on force buy to tie it up at 6-6

phzy can't hold B alone, and NIP lose a 4v3 retake in a key round; Vitality finally found a round without utilising a spawn, and it couldn't have come at a better time... or so we thought, because NIP win the following round with a saved AWP and USPs!

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17:36 - hampus grabs a double kill with HE grenades to keep half close (Vitality 4 - 4 NIP)

Hampus 'grenade master' Posner dropping down hell from above:

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17:28 - NIP win first gun round to keep Dust2 close (Vitality 3 - 2 NIP)

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17:21 NIP win a pistol!!! Only to lose the second round... (Vitality 1 - 1 NIP)

Well, it technically is a better start, right?

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17:09 "You can't have such a bad start on both halves" - Janko "⁠YNk⁠" Paunović

A key point made on the desk in-between maps, pointing out the rough start NIP had in both halves. It definitely makes it tough to get anything out of a game when you lose the first three rounds of each half.

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17:01 - Vitality close out Inferno 16-10 over NIP, taking away their opponents map pick

Not a great start to this final for the Swedes as they lose their map pick. Despite mounting an impressive first half comeback, they didn't offer anything on the defensive side and end up losing the map comfortably.

It was business as usual for the Frenchmen, who watched Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut get the majority of the heavy lifting done.

16:55 - NIP double AWP setup grabs them their first two rounds on CT, but ZywOo demolishes banana defence and grabs 4k (Vitality 14 - 10 NIP)

NIP finally find some joy on the CT side by virtue of a double AWP setup. Unfortunately ZywOo decides two rounds is enough, and single-handedly ends the streak before it starts with a 4k solo running up banana. Don't try this in your matchmaking games, folks, you are not ZywOo.

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16:46 - shox and ZywOo win crazy 2v5 to break NIP economy and take control of Inferno

Wow, the Ninjas will be kicking themselves after that one. They get a three-man advantage in a key round, and somehow contrive to lose it when they know shox and ZywOo are hitting A.

Could be the map right there.

16:42 - Vitality take the second half pistol and convert to regain lead (Vitality 10 - 8 NIP)

Much like the first half, Vitality get off to a 3-0 start off the back of a pistol win, this time on the offense. Their fans will be hoping they show a bit more stamina in this half.

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16:32 - Excellent comeback in the half sees NIP hold slim lead (Vitality 7 - 8 NIP)

The Swedes grew into the game off the back of a key mistake in a 4v3 advantage by Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire which gave them their third round. Vitality didn't manage a single round after that.

Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner closes out the half with a stylish clutch to put NIP in control of this map.

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16:27 - NIP begin to grow into the half (Vitality 7 - 5 NIP)

Some scrappy rounds ensue with the Ninjas beginning to find more success, particularly towards the B site, as we get towards the back end of the half.

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16:16 Vitality take early lead, but NIP finding rounds (6-2)

The defence is generally holding strong for the French squad, with NIP only finding success in rounds where they get clean entries.

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16:08 - The Frenchmen win the pistol and convert, before the Swedes bounce back (3-1)

Despite nearly dropping the second round to some excellent REZ deagle headshots, Vitality got out to a 3-0 lead on their CT side before being pegged back in the first gun round.

Game on!

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16:01 - We're off with the first pistol of the grand final! We start the series with NIP's pick of Inferno

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15:57 - The veto is in, and no surprises that Vertigo and Ancient have been banned by Ninjas in Pyjamas and Vitality respectively

1. NIP removed Vertigo
2. Vitality removed Ancient
3. NIP picked Inferno
4. Vitality picked Dust2
5. NIP picked Nuke
6. Vitality picked Mirage
7. Overpass was left over

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The final IEM event of the year concludes later today, with Vitality taking on Ninjas in Pyjamas in a best-of-five grand final at 16:00 . The two teams have already met once during this event with the Frenchmen taking home a comfortable 2-0 series win, so the Ninjas will be hoping for a change of fortunes this time around.

The walking dead vs stand-in

The biggest storyline for this final is, unfortunately, the awkward situations both teams arrive in. For Vitality, they arrive at this event knowing that these five players will likely not continue into 2022 together, whereas Ninjas in Pyjamas have had to sub out primary AWPer and star player Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz for academy prospect Love "⁠phzy⁠" Smidebrant. Not the most thrilling context for a grand final, but let's do our best to get excited, shall we?

A late round of firsts?

Vitality will be hoping to secure their first trophy of 2021, after a year of many strong placements, without quite managing to leap the final hurdle. On a more personal note, #1 player of 2020 ZywOo is, shockingly, still on the hunt for his first MVP of the year. Can the Frenchmen break both of these hoodoos in one fell swoop?

A mammoth task ahead for the Ninjas

It has been a strange year for Ninjas in Pyjamas, who seemed to be ramping up just in time for the Major only to stumble awkwardly to a 5-8th place finish, being comfortably beaten 2-0 by the three elite teams they played (Gambit, Natus Vincere and G2). Another disappointment followed in the form of BLAST Fall Finals, but they have done well to bounce back and reach a grand final here at IEM Winter.

As if fate was stacking the deck against them, not only have they had to switch out their star player at the last minute, they have also already been beaten at IEM Winter by their grand final opponents. Let's see if the Swedes can rise against the odds and take home another trophy.

Find out the answer to all of these questions by following this live post, and find out who will be the champions of the penultimate big event of the year!