Spirit hand NIP third consecutive defeat at EPL Season 16

Leonid "⁠chopper⁠" Vishnyakov's men earned their second victory on the bounce in Group A.

Ninjas in Pyjamas' woes at ESL Pro League Season 16 continue as they leave the third day of play with another 0-2 defeat, this time at the hands of Spirit. The Swedish squad has yet to win a map at the event and with matches against Endpoint and Natus Vincere on the horizon, they face an uphill battle if they are to reach playoffs.

The Russian squad came into the match after a narrow win against Endpoint on the previous day, but they were clinical today, executing two fantastic CT sides against the Swedes. Spirit will go into the fourth day of the group stage with the same number of wins as Natus Vincere and Vitality.

Despite conceding fewer than 10 rounds on each map against Ninjas in Pyjamas, Pavel "⁠S1ren⁠" Ogloblin still thought there was room for improvement: "It was not actually a very good game for us," stated the 20-year-old in the post-match interview. The Russian rifler also attributed Spirit's success today to the Swedes' lack of a dedicated AWPer.

Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen was the top performer for Ninjas in Pyjamas on the CT side of Mirage as he topped the scoreboard with a 1.71 rating during the Swedish core's early success against Spirit. chopper's men quickly bounced back from the 3-6 disadvantage to close the half 8-7 ahead following a few successful hits on the A bombsite.

Ninjas in Pyjamas' dreadful offensive play at this event haunted them into this match as well, with the Swedes only able to claim two rounds after switching sides. Boris "⁠magixx⁠" Vorobiev was fantastic to watch on A as he halted all of Ninjas in Pyjamas' attempts to break into the site. The 19-year-old registered a 2.05 rating and 100% KAST in the second half as Spirit cruised to a 16-9 victory.

The Swedes' offensive struggles continued into Nuke as they failed to find impact on the T side once again. Spirit put a lock on the upper bombsite, and quickly earned an 8-1 lead thanks to S1ren's solid defensive performance worthy of a 1.78 rating. Ninjas in Pyjamas' only streak of success came late in the half as the upgraded pistols of Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin and Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser helped the Ts salvage a 5-10 scoreline. Spirit were almost flawless after switching sides and closed the map 16-7, cutting through the Swedish CT side like butter.

Ninjas in Pyjamas now sit bottom of Group A with no map wins after three 0-2 series and with hampus recording a 0.71 rating. The inability of the Swedish in-game leader to find impact on the T side is a big part of the team's struggles as no one else has stepped up to fill the offensive void, with everyone else sitting below a 0.90 rating across the event so far.