Three months into the new year, and Ninjas in Pyjamas have finally qualified for a tournament.
After seven failed closed qualifier attempts and zero official tournament appearances in 2025, the Swedish organization has now booked their spot at PGL Astana 2025
NIP claimed their long-awaited breakthrough on Tuesday, defeating Metizport 3-2 in a tense best-of-five series in the grand final of the PGL Europe Closed Qualifier.
The match not only delivered redemption for NIP but also denied four former NIP players on the Metizport side a win against their old organization.
Match statistics
NIP vs Metizport 3-2 | PGL Astana EU Closed Qualifier
- 13-11 (Anubis) – sjuush | 1.35 rating
- 4-13 (Nuke) – isak | 2.31 rating
- 16-12 (Dust2) – ewjerkz | 1.57 rating
- 9-13 (Ancient) – adamb | 1.47 rating
- 13-8 (Inferno) – Snappi | 1.23 rating
A long-awaited breakthrough
Prior to this win, NIP had competed in ten qualifiers in 2025, including seven closed ones, without making it to a single main event. That run is now finally over.
NIP’s path to qualification included wins over JANO, AMKAL, fnatic, B8 and Metizport.
This will mark NIP’s first main event since November 2024.
PGL Astana kicks off in May and features some of the top contenders in the world, including Spirit, NAVI, Eternal Fire, and G2. NIP will join the 16-team Swiss stage as one of the lowest-seeded teams at the $1.25 million tournament.
The closed qualifier spots for the North and South American region are yet to be decided.
