NIP ease past Entropiq to take the lead in ESL Pro League's Group A

The Swedes will sit atop Group A with two victories ahead of the third day of play.

Two of the three day one winners, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Entropiq, faced off in an ESL Pro League match that would see the winner take stand as the sole team with a 2-0 record after two matches.

Before today’s match between Ninjas in Pyjamas and Entropiq, the other winner from the opening day, G2, fell to MOUZ, leaving the path clear for the victor of this fixture to take the lead in the group ahead of the third day of play as fnatic and Looking For Org will fight for their first victory in the final series of day two.

The bout for the provisional lead was initially expected to be a close affair, but Entropiq proved to be no match for Ninjas in Pyjamas, who were superior to their rivals across both maps played, winning Nuke 16-5 and Overpass 16-11.

Ninjas in Pyjamas and Entropiq, who last faced off in the previous ESL Pro League season with the Swedes winning 2-0, kicked the series off on Nuke, a map that was expected to go in favor Dmitry "⁠hooch⁠" Bogdanov’s men as they were the ones who picked it and boast a much better win percentage on it than do Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser and company.

The early stages went as expected, with Ninjas in Pyjamas and Entropiq in a ferocious battle for control as Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner won a 1vs1 clutch to keep his team ahead 5-4. The brawl continued with both teams on the edge, but a four-kill round by hampus in a full eco to make it 7-5 in the Swedes’ favor changed the match’s momentum completely.

Entropiq were unable to win another round in the half as Ninjas in Pyjamas took a 10-5 lead before the switch, after which Scandinavians continued to plow their way cleanly on the attack to wrap the map up commandingly, 16-5.

The series continued to go the way of Ninjas in Pyjamas on Overpass as their confidence at the point was through the roof, with REZ winning a 1vs2 clutch in the seventh round to keep his team ahead 6-1. The half continued to go the way of hampus and company as they cruised to a 12-3 scoreline at the switch.

Aleksei "⁠El1an⁠" Gusev and company showed signs of coming back, making it 7-13 before another REZ clutch brought the Swedes to within one round of match point, and although they continued their comeback attempt despite the setback, it was to no avail as Ninjas in Pyjamas stopped a B hit to win 16-11 and close out the match 2-0.

Friday will be an important day for both teams, as Entropiq will take on another playoff contender, G2, who currently hold their same 1-1 record, while Ninjas in Pyjamas will have a chance to run away against another team fighting to for a top finish in the group stage, MOUZ, to consolidate their lead ahead of the last round robin matches.