NIP qualify for PGL Major, Bad News Eagles eliminate ASG

The Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser-led squad secure the 2-0 to claim their place at the upcoming Major.

Ninjas in Pyjamas are through to the PGL Major Antwerp after winning their 2-1 pool match at the Europe Regional Major Ranking B over SINNERS in two maps. They join Players, Copenhagen Flames, and ENCE in the list of teams that have achieved qualification through the Europe RMR B tournament so far.

hampus' side aren't assured a spot in the Legends stage yet, however, as they will have to wait to be seeded based on their Bucholz score to find out whether or not they will play for the final Legends spot, or be placed in the Challengers stage of the Major.

On the other hand, Bad News Eagles took a commanding victory over ASG in their elimination series to keep them alive in the RMR after two maps was all they needed to seal their opponents' fate.

SINNERS began their spot-deciding series against Ninjas in Pyjamas with a quick 3-0 lead as their success on the pistol round forced their opponents to save, putting hampus' squad on the back foot early. Despite Ninjas in Pyjamas's first gun round going their way after a successful retake, SINNERS kept pushing and brought the score up to 5-1 in their favor. Ninjas in Pyjamas started to claw their way back into the game thanks to their lockdown defense on site as the majority Swedish team entered halftime up 8-7.

If the first half of the map was a close affair between both teams, the second was all Ninjas in Pyjamas as they opened with a successful pistol round, forcing SINNERS into a two-round save of their own. The Czech side did take the 19th round away from Ninjas in Pyjamas, however it would turn out to be the last time they found success on Inferno as their attempts to retake site and deny the bomb plant were completely overrun by Ninjas in Pyjamas with Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner and hampus driving their team to a convincing 16-8 map victory and 1-0 series advantage.

Overpass saw Ninjas in Pyjamas once again on the back foot early, as SINNERS' defense accompanied by some missed utility from Ninjas in Pyjamas allowed them to get the better of their opponents and secure a 4-1 score in their favor. Excellent fragging from Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin and Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen allowed Ninjas in Pyjamas to level the score at 4 apiece. Back-and-forth rounds ensued as the half dragged on, SINNERS eventually finding a bit of breathing room as they established a 9-6 lead after 15 rounds.

The second pistol round of Overpass was taken by SINNERS, however Ninjas in Pyjamas answered back with a successful full-eco of their own in the following round to boost the team economy, allowing them to shut down SINNERS' attempts to take site and attain a narrow 11-10 lead. Although the succeeding rounds were extremely back-and-forth between both teams, SINNERS often found themselves in difficult full-eco and force-buy situations, which Ninjas in Pyjamas converted into important rounds to add to their tally. In the end, SINNERS' troubles on economy were the deciding factor of Ninjas in Pyjamas's success late in the game, as the Czech squad could not overcome the exceptional defense on display from REZ and company as Ninjas in Pyjamas secured the map 16-11, and the series 2-0.

Bad News Eagles went into their elimination series against ASG all guns blazing, as they took the first pistol round and a 3-0 advantage over their majority Russian rivals. ASG claimed two rounds back for themselves, however Flatron "⁠juanflatroo⁠" Halimi's men played a nearly flawless T side to completely overwhelm ASG's defense and shut down any attempts to retake site as the score line read 13-2 in favor of Bad News Eagles at the switch. Even as the two teams swapped sides, ASG just couldn't find their footing as Bad News Eagles won three straight rounds to attain a crucial 1-0 series lead.

Map two opened just like the first did, as Bad News Eagles found themselves scoring nine out of the first ten rounds as ASG faltered as the attackers, being shut out at every instance and failing to secure afterplant situations as Dionis "⁠sinnopsyy⁠" Budeci's squad played calm and collected defense on their way to a 10-5 first half scoreline.

A resurgence from ASG in the second period sparked a thrilling comeback, as they found themselves in the drivers' seat of the map on the back of Konstantin "⁠Raijin⁠" Trubarov's excellent fragging and seven consecutive round wins, which only saw Bad News Eagles successfully plant the bomb once, to give them the lead on Inferno. Ultimately, Bad News Eagles were able to fend off the late comeback attempt and eliminate ASG from the RMR and from Major contention.

The Swiss standings as of now are as follows: