NIP send 9 Pandas packing from EU RMR

The European side narrowly overcame 9 Pandas to keep their RMR campaign alive.

Ninjas in Pyjamas have secured victory in the first match of Perfect World Shanghai Major Europe RMR B's 2-2 pool, taking down 9 Pandas in a hard-fought series thanks to heroic efforts from AWPer Artem "⁠r1nkle⁠" Moroz.

Gareth "⁠MisteM⁠" Ries and company will now be eagerly awaiting the results of the remaining 2-2 matches, as wins for Astralis and Spirit will allow Ninjas in Pyjamas to bypass the seventh-place decider, while a victory for either Passion UA or Sashi would guarantee them a place in the extra match.

Date	Matches
Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Europe RMR B
24/11/2024	Astralis 06:10 Passion UA	Match
24/11/2024	Spirit 09:00 Sashi	Match
24/11/2024	Ninjas in Pyjamas 13:00 Spirit	Match

The all-important series between Ninjas in Pyjamas and the Pandas kicked off on NIP's selection of Ancient, where the Russian squad quickly racked up a daunting 7-1 lead on their opponent's pick. Despite the significant deficit, r1nkle managed to put up a show-stopping 2.22 CT-side rating in the second half, allowing Ninjas in Pyjamas to claw back their pick to a 13-10 win.

9 Pandas's pick of Dust2 played out in a very similar fashion, as Aleksandr "⁠shalfey⁠" Marenov's troop racked up a dominant 10-2 lead that was soon whittled away by none other than r1nkle on the offense. This time around, Ninjas in Pyjamas were not able to complete the comeback, fumbling an anti-eco that gave 9 Pandas the fuel they needed to wrap up Dust2 13-10.

On the Mirage decider Ninjas in Pyjamas managed to produce a competitive first half for the first time in the series, in large part thanks to work from stand-in Jacob "⁠jocab⁠" Nerheden. Tied up 8-8 after a back-and-forth start to the map, a crucial 4k from Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner allowed the Ninjas to pull away, closing the map out shortly thereafter 13-8 to take the series 2-1.