NIP, MOUZ secure final IEM Katowice group stage spots

The last two matches of the Play-In saw the two teams featuring stand-ins emerge victorious.

The complete team list for the top-16 stage of IEM Katowice has been set following the conclusion of the Play-In, from which MOUZ and Ninjas in Pyjamas became the final teams to advance following 2-0 victories over Entropiq and Movistar Riders, respectively.

Ninjas in Pyjamas bounced back from a lackluster showing on the first day of the tournament, where they had taken an opening win against Wisla Krakow before falling in a rather one-sided series to Copenhagen Flames to miss out on their first chance at qualifying for the main event.

Looking to recover from the loss in the lower bracket, Ninjas in Pyjamas made quick work of Movistar Riders, kicking off the series on Vertigo with a 5-1 start on the CT side. The Spaniards kept themselves competitive as they began to rally back following their second gun round, managing to tie up the score at 6-6, but it was an inspired showing from Nicolas "⁠Plopski⁠" Gonzalez Zamora that helped Ninjas in Pyjamas to edge out an 8-7 lead at halftime.

After the sides swapped over, Movistar Riders were quickly swept aside, unrelenting aggression from Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser dismantling their CT defenses as Ninjas in Pyjamas raced to a 16-9 finish.

Overpass was an even less competitive affair as Ninjas in Pyjamas remained in firm control from the onset of the map, another solid showing on the T side proving key in a lopsided first half scoreline. The Riders initially held a brief lead at the start of the map, 3-1, but were unable to hold on to it as they only garnered three additional rounds as Ninjas in Pyjamas brought things to a swift end to earn their spot in the main event.

After falling short to FaZe on the first day of the Play-In, MOUZ were able to recover in the lower bracket against Entropiq to secure their own berth to the top-16 stage. Jon "⁠JDC⁠" de Castro and Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás were shining beacons for the team across the series, with the former player helping kick off a dominant T side effort on Vertigo at the start of the series.

Christopher "⁠dexter⁠" Nong and David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský were also key in helping the team secure a 10-5 scoreline at halftime, but once the sides swapped over, a comeback effort was in full force from Entropiq. For a brief moment, it seemed as if the Russian team would steal away the win as they managed to gain the lead at 14-12, but MOUZ managed to stabilize and narrowly take the map over the line in round 30.

Ancient marked a stark departure from the narrow margins of the first map as it was MOUZ who were in control from end to end, with torzsi stepping up to bat for his team as they won ten rounds in a row on the defense. Following the side swap, Entropiq were only able to garner a pistol round win before MOUZ got back to their winning ways, securing five final rounds to swiftly bring an end to the series.