FURIA opens Group D with sensational win
The Brazilians were heavy underdogs against NIP but created a huge upset with a superb performance on their CT sides.
Group D looked almost but over as FURIA and Ninjas in Pyjamas clocked in for today's work. Gambit and Team Liquid had secured their spot in the playoffs with victories earlier today, and in the last match of the day, it was expected that NIP would do the same.
Judged from the first 20 rounds of the match, it looked like the bookmaker's favorite would seal the deal. Up 13-7 on FURIA's map pick, NIP had the match where they wanted it. But then everything crashed. FURIA went into lockdown on their defense on Nuke and won the next nine rounds in a row to win 16-13. A huge shocker for NIP, who had to win today's match to be certain of advancement. Tomorrow the roster face Gambit in their last game, and you do not want to go into the last round against the number two in the world needing a win...
So the Swedish Ninjas were forced to win their own map pick, Ancient. But like on Nuke, FURIA produced a stellar CT-side. Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato was the dangerman for FURIA, who really only had their Danish AWP'er, Nicolai 'device' Reedtz on fire during the first half. 11-4 was the margin, that NIP had to chase during their CT-side in the second half. And so they did. In an explosive second half with countless retakes performed by NIP, the match was suddenly all even at 11-11. A dramatic comeback from NIP, who found some much-needed momentum which was enough to secure them the map. A crazy match of course needed a third map decider.
Mirage started as expected. FURIA continued their wildly impressive CT-sides with another huge performance giving them an 11-4 lead at the break. This time it was the entire FURIA roster that chipped in on the scoreboard. A fact that made the job even harder for the Swedish Ninjas, who went behind 14-4 before putting in their first-round win in the second half. The deficit was simply too much for the Swedes, who lost the match and probably the possibility of advancing in the tournament. FURIA can be proud of their performance in the light of them having to play with their coach as a stand-in.
With the victory, FURIA now looks into another difficult match against Team Liquid. A victory will qualify them for the playoffs at ESL Pro League. NIP will have a similar tough job to do tomorrow. They need to beat Gambit and FURIA to lose in order to gain access to the next stage of the tournament.
FURIA – Ninjas in Pyjamas (2-1) | ESL Pro League Season 14
16-13 (Nuke) | 
yuurih – 1.35 Rating / 25-18 K-D / 90.9 ADR
14-16 (Ancient) | KSCERATO – 1.56 Rating / 32-18 K-D / 108.6 ADR
16-9 (Mirage) | VINI – 1.60 Rating / 23-11 K-D / 94.5 ADR
MVP: Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato | 1.36 Rating / 74-44 K-D / 86.9 ADR
