NIP start play-off run by beating Liquid, set up ENCE semi-final

Two semi-final teams are now known, with ENCE facing NIP on Saturday.

The only remaining North American hope, Liquid, lost to Ninjas in Pyjamas in the second quarter-final game of ESL Pro League Season 15. The series started on Liquid's map pick of Ancient, where the Swedes proved that they are a force to be reckoned on the map with a close 16-14 win. Liquid managed to strike back on Overpass in another 16-14 match, before the Swedes won the deciding map of Inferno 16-12.

ENCE now awaits for Ninjas in Pyjamas in the semi-final, which will be played on Saturday at 15:30 .

The series started on Liquid's map pick of Ancient, which was an unexpected pick as the map is Ninjas in Pyjamas's most successful one in recent times, only losing it twice this year. But the North Americans proved why they picked the map, as Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski started off the series with an ace in the pistol round which enabled them to get a decent start and got them the upper hand in the economy game. After four straight rounds for Liquid the Swedes were able to strike back with an eco round combined with a few saved rifles. Liquid didn't let that dampen their morale, as they quickly stabilized and managed to get a very respectable seven rounds on their offensive side.

Considering Ancient is currently the most CT sided map in the pool there is no doubt Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella's boys went into the second half pleased with the scoreline, which would unquestionably be even better without Love "⁠phzy⁠" Smidebrant's contribution, who was the best performer for Ninjas in Pyjamas. Once the teams switched sides, the close nature of the game continued with Ninjas in Pyjamas first winning the pistol round and converting the following few. Then it was Liquid's turn to mount a comeback, which Ninjas in Pyjamas stopped in the last round of regulation to convert a 16-14 win on what Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser described as "their map" in an interview.

Overpass, which was the second map of the series, followed the same close nature of Ancient, with the teams constantly trading rounds throughout the first half. Liquid were quicker out of the gates as they raced to a 5-0 lead before Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner started to get into the game and get his team some much needed multi kills. On the back of his performance Ninjas in Pyjamas managed to slowly get some rounds on the board, with the half finishing 10-5 in the favor of the North Americans.

After switching sides Liquid found many openings into the Ninjas in Pyjamas defense but struggled to close out rounds at the start, meaning the Swedes came back into the game. Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic's clutch round put Liquid 13-9 up and facing an eco, and from that moment on the map looked to be Liquid's all the way. Ninjas in Pyjamas however didn't give up, winning five out of the last seven rounds but falling at the last hurdle, losing the map 16-14.

Going into the decider of Inferno, the match was wide open with both teams showing us a lot to be excited for in the previous two maps. Liquid once again won the opening pistol round and converted the following rounds, which meant another 5-0 start for the North American team. But, as was the case in the previous maps, Liquid fast start quickly lost steam as Ninjas in Pyjamas clawed back at their advantage and managed to rescue the half with a 8-7 score in their favor. The second half started out scrappy with teams trading rounds, but Ninjas in Pyjamas were hastily able to take control of the half reaching a 14-8 lead and winning the series 2-1 and advancing to the semi-final.