BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR BFORZE put NIP on the brink of elimination
The Russians have improved game to game, whereas the Ninjas have waned.
FORZE defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas 16-12 on Inferno to put the Ninjas within one match of being eliminated from BLAST Paris Major contention. FORZE move to the 2-1 bracket and give themselves some breathing room, as they will get two chances to qualify.
Andrey "Jerry" Mekhryakov and co. could easily have won by a bigger scoreline as they were 13-5 up at the start of the second half of this game, but ultimately they will not care how they got the job done. Ninjas in Pyjamas suffered in large part due to their incredibly poor start on their defensive half, losing seven of the first eight rounds, and they relied on their B hold pf Fredrik "REZ" Sterner and Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin to get the few rounds they did manage.
In general the Ninjas found themselves second-best when it came down to duels, as emphasized by Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen’s seven frag total, and their ultra-passive approach to CT side really did not pay dividends. Over on the T side they seemed a little more warmed up and performed better, but it was too little too late as FORZE had plenty of time to find the right defensive setup to get them over the line.
As for FORZE it was their excellent individual prowess that secured them this win over Ninjas in Pyjamas, as they were so much more proficient in gun fights for most of the game that strategy rarely came into play. Their star trio of Evgeny "r3salt" Frolov, Aleksandr "zorte" Zagodyrenko and Aleksandr "shalfey" Marenov all found impact at the right times, and the team will need them to continue delivering if they are to qualify.
 FORZE |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 - 16 | +8 | 71.0 | 67.9% | 1.20 | |
| 18 - 14 | +4 | 70.8 | 82.1% | 1.18 | |
| 17 - 19 | -2 | 76.2 | 71.4% | 1.14 | |
| 16 - 16 | 0 | 75.1 | 75.0% | 1.10 | |
| 11 - 20 | -9 | 55.4 | 67.9% | 0.73 |
  Ninjas in Pyjamas |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 - 15 | +8 | 87.8 | 67.9% | 1.34 | |
| 20 - 18 | +2 | 80.8 | 85.7% | 1.27 | |
| 16 - 17 | -1 | 64.6 | 75.0% | 1.02 | |
| 17 - 18 | -1 | 74.1 | 64.3% | 0.95 | |
| 7 - 19 | -12 | 30.0 | 60.7% | 0.51 |
Many would have expected Ninjas in Pyjamas to play all of their games at the EU RMR B in this fashion, as they came into the event in poor form and having slipped outside the top 20 of the world rankings. They began their campaign in Denmark relatively brightly, taking a solid win over Eternal Fire before running Vitality close in a loss. This seems to be a return to the mean for the Ninjas, and they will need to really buck up their ideas if they are to avoid elimination.
FORZE on the other hand impressed in their recent ESL Pro League campaign but faltered in their first game at the RMR, getting thoroughly spanked 5-16 by Cloud9. They recovered by clinching a nail-biter against ENCE, and now have put themselves within a win of a BLAST Paris Major appearance by taking this relatively comfortable win against Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Guy 'NertZ' Iluz
Pavle 'Maden' Bošković
Paweł 'dycha' Dycha
Álvaro 'SunPayus' García
Abay 'HObbit' Khassenov
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire
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