GamerLegion dump NIP out of ESL Pro League

GamerLegion recovered from a poor start to the series to stay alive in Malta.

GamerLegion have eliminated Ninjas in Pyjamas from ESL Pro League by virtue of a 2-1 victory, recovering from a loss on Ancient (6-16) to take Overpass (16-14) and Inferno (16-10).

Ancient was terrible for GamerLegion, they struggled to get a foothold in the map at all, but they brushed off the disappointment to clinch a series victory. Sebastian "⁠volt⁠" Maloș was key in the European side's potent T halves, whilst Sanzhar "⁠neaLaN⁠" Iskhakov and Isak "⁠isak⁠" Fahlén put up the frags on defense.

Ninjas in Pyjamas began their campaign in Malta with an impressive 2-0 win over Astralis, only to flop the rest of the event and muster a single further map victory. This series mirrored that journey; they were dominant to start, but seemed to wane as it progressed, and the Nordic side were thoroughly outclassed on the last half of Inferno.

GamerLegion progress to the all-important battle for the final playoff spot available, where they will face the winner of Grayhound vs FURIA. Ninjas in Pyjamas, meanwhile, will be heading home.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
03/09/2023	GamerLegion 19:30 FURIA	Match

The series began on Ancient, the pick of Ninjas in Pyjamas, and it was a one-sided affair in favor of the Ninjas. GamerLegion couldn’t get a foothold on their CT side, with cave serving as a real problem position; volt, the cave player, only got his first frags in round 13. Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner and Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser ran riot, and Ninjas in Pyjamas secured a convincing 10-5 half.

A lost pistol round gave GamerLegion a mountain to climb on offense, and they couldn’t manage it, granting Ninjas in Pyjamas a smooth 16-6 victory.

Next came Overpass, and after taking a 2-0 start on T side, GamerLegion dropped a round to a hero Galil on REZ. This threatened to spell disaster for the European side, but they recovered admirably to march their way to a 9-6 half, powered by strong entry work from volt.

Ninjas in Pyjamas took their offensive pistol and converted to tie the scores up immediately in the second period, but GamerLegion stayed composed and extended the scoreline to 14-10 when they got guns up. Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke then stepped up with back-to-back impact rounds to give Ninjas in Pyjamas a way back into the game. This allowed his team to tie up the scores, but GamerLegion had just enough in the tank to clinch a narrow 16-14 win.

Inferno began with GamerLegion storming to a convincing 7-1 lead on the T side, as volt was once again cracking open bombsites for fun. However, after Daniel "⁠djL⁠" Narancic contributed his thoughts during a timeout, Ninjas in Pyjamas completely flipped the script, with Daniil "⁠headtr1ck⁠" Valitov coming alive to power his team to an 8-7 score by virtue of 16 first-half frags.

In the second half GamerLegion managed to recapture the dominance they began the game with, shutting down Ninjas in Pyjamas’s offense time after time with apparent ease. Few rounds came close, and GamerLegion strolled to a 16-10 victory to seal the series.