NIP send Evil Geniuses packing from BLAST Premier Fall Groups

The Swedish-majority squad needed all three maps to move past Sanzhar "⁠neaLaN⁠" Iskhakov and company.

Ninjas in Pyjamas secured their first win of the Knockout Stage at BLAST Premier Fall Groups, eliminating Evil Geniuses on the back of a 2-1 victory. The Swedish-Danish roster now move forward to the second round, where they have a matchup against Liquid scheduled for tomorrow at 16:30 .

Ninjas in Pyjamas will be looking to use this victory to get their BLAST Premier Fall Groups run back on track after finishing Group A as the third seed with losses to Vitality and Astralis. Nicolas "⁠Plopski⁠" Gonzalez Zamora led the way for his team, averaging a team-high 1.16 rating across the series — a big jump when compared to the 0.96 rating seen by the 20-year-old in the past three months.

Evil Geniuses, on the other hand, leave their first tournament as a new roster with much to be desired as they exit Copenhagen in joint-last place after failing to get a single win on the board. Timothy "⁠autimatic⁠" Ta had a particularly strong return to the server after sitting out the opening stage due to personal issues; the 25-year-old was Evil Geniuses' highest-rated player of the match, averaging a 1.10 across the three maps.

The North American side will now have to fight through the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown in October if they're to have any chance at making an appearance at the $425,000 Fall Finals.

Getting things underway on Nuke, Evil Geniuses started off firmly on the right foot, winning the T-side pistol round after a quick hit on the A site before another four back-to-back rounds gifted the team a 5-0 lead. A heroic defense of the upper site by Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin in the sixth round finally allowed Ninjas in Pyjamas to get their name on the board, with the Swedish-majority side using this round win to snowball themselves to a 6-5 advantage of their own. Evil Geniuses couldn't get the ball rolling again from this point on, and the North American squad went into the break trailing 7-8.

Ninjas in Pyjamas nabbed their first pistol round victory of the tournament to start the second half, before adding another five to lead 14-7. From here on out, it was simply a case of Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser and company finding the two remaining rounds they needed, with back-to-back hits on the B site being enough for Ninjas in Pyjamas to complete the flawless half and steal Nuke 16-7.

Tsvetelin "⁠CeRq⁠" Dimitrov and Vincent "⁠Brehze⁠" Cayonte hit the ground running to get things going on Overpass, combining for 15 kills to power their side to an early 6-1 lead on the CT-side. This dominant start for the North American roster continued, with a proactive defense preventing the Swedes from even getting onto the bombsites as Evil Geniuses cruised to a 13-2 first half showing. autimatic was the difference maker for his team on the CT-side, accruing a 1.82 rating throughout their defensive effort.

Ninjas in Pyjamas' bid at launching the comeback began with a five-round spree to start the second half. An eco-round win by neaLaN's men in the 21st round stopped Ninjas in Pyjamas in their tracks, however, breaking Ninjas in Pyjamas' finances before allowing the neaLaN-led lineup to go on and close out the map uncontested, 16-7.

Evil Geniuses didn't let off the gas once Inferno rolled around. neaLaN and company were quick to drum up a commanding 5-0 lead with the Swedes unable to find an answer for their foes' tuned in T-side. A triple kill with the Big Green in the sixth round by Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen on the B-site defense got Ninjas in Pyjamas back in the running. The Swedish-Danish roster didn't look back from that point, with relentless aggression going unanswered as they went on to boast a 9-6 lead by the half's end.

Evil Geniuses won the second pistol round and added two more to tie things up, but this good start soon slipped away. Ninjas in Pyjamas kept up their strong start towards the latter end of the first half, finding four rounds on the bounce as they marched ahead to 13-9 up. Evil Geniuses's inability to hold the A site proved to be their kryptonite, with Ninjas in Pyjamas ending on the bombsite three rounds in a row to lock in Inferno 16-11 and the series 2-1.