Ninjas in Pyjamas is going through another rebuild of their roster after several years of disappointing results. In an online interview with Pley.gg, Fredrik "REZ" Sterner shares his thoughts on the new roster, and how players like Artem "r1nkle" Moroz and Isak "isak" Fahlén have surprised the longest-standing member of NIP.

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How are you feeling about the new roster?

- Overall, I am super happy. I think Isak was probably one of the most important pickups we've made in a while. I think people have really underestimated him during his career. He brings a lot to our team that people don't really realize from a fan perspective. He enables a lot of us other players, and he enables me a lot. The same goes for Max (Max "maxster" Jansson). He makes the game very easy for us to play, and he didn't join the team to be a star player, hard fragger, or anything like that. He came in to support us and make our jobs easier, which he really does through his communication and playing style. So, yeah, I think he complements the lineup perfectly. I'm really, really happy that we managed to get him on the team, REZ explains before naming Artem "r1nkle" Moroz as perhaps the most interesting new addition to the squad.

- I think he has surpassed everyone's expectations with what he has done so far. He totally surprised me when I first played with him. I think he can become a top three AWPer in the world. I think he has already shown the qualities of a top AWPer. I've played with good AWPers in the past, I've played with device, and he’s obviously one of the best AWPers in the game. From what I've seen of r1nkle, he can reach that level, no doubt. And I think he's close to it already; he just needs more experience.

- He does everything so damn well. Maybe most of all, it's his mechanical skill. How he moves around the map, how fast his reactions are, and the initiative he takes in the game, like moving around and reacting to calls or sounds and what's happening in the game.

He's a very quick thinker and really fast mechanically, very mechanically skilled. When you spectate him, he kind of looks like he shoots and flicks like m0NESY or s1mple. He has THAT kind of skill. When we got him, he obviously didn't have much experience. So, I was super surprised when I played in Abu Dhabi with him, and when we started going to LANs with him, that he is very active in talking. He has a good understanding of the game already, and it feels like he has a lot of experience when you play with him because he makes a lot of good calls, and he reads the game insanely well. I think that's also one of the biggest things that surprised me. So, I'm just super stoked to see how he will evolve further. It kind of feels like he's close to his peak already, but he shouldn't be, not yet. So, yeah, it's going to be interesting to see what will happen.

With such a talented AWPer, and with a guy like “isak”, who complements your team so well, what does that mean for you as a player on the current lineup?

- For me, obviously, my career has been very turbulent. It's been hard for me to perform with everything that's been going on. There have been moments where I wasn't comfortable at all with the positions or the playstyle. It rarely suited me as a player, and that's a big reason why I struggled a lot in the past, because I wasn't comfortable most of the time. But right now, I feel like this team complements me and my playstyle.

So, I can play how I want. Playing with r1nkle, there are a few sites where I'm close to him, and I feel I can understand him very easily. He makes my gameplay easier. It kind of reminds me of back in the day when I played with device. I felt like I played very well when I was playing with him. I can feel that with r1nkle already; we think very much alike, and I can understand how he wants to approach the game, even before we go into a round or a match. It's easy for me to play because there are no question marks or uncertainties. That's why it's easier for me, and that makes my performance much better. I get more comfortable and gain more confidence in my aim and playstyle. Everything complements each other in that way.

What do you think is the biggest challenge for this roster?

- Right now, we haven't really played a big team on a big stage yet. I think that's going to be the biggest challenge. How will we approach that? How will we perform in such environments? Because we are fairly new, and we have young players who haven't really been in those top, top events. So, I think that's what we have to strive for: to try and play as many LANs as possible, as many stages as possible. You don't really get that from these online tournaments or these small events we had in Argentina or Abu Dhabi. It's not really the experience we're looking for; we want to play in a big arena. When we get those kinds of games, I think it's going to be easier to compete against the top-tier teams.

On Monday, Fredrik "REZ" Sterner and the rest of the Ninjas in Pyjamas roster will get the chance to qualify for one of the big stages, when they face G2 in the opening round of BLAST Premier Fall Groups in Copenhagen. The top six teams of the event will qualify for the Fall Finals later this year.

r1nkle

isak

Ninjas in Pyjamas

With only two notable trophies in 2600 days, Fredrik "REZ" Sterner and Ninjas in Pyjamas has not seen a lot of success during the seven years, he has spent on the team.

- I want to build a bigger trophy cabinet. It is pretty painful to see that I've been in a team for so long and never really… We've been a contender for finals and semifinals a lot of times, but we never really got that trophy, so that is painful in that way, the 26-year-old Swede explains in an online interview with Pley.gg.

Over his tenure, REZ has played with an astounding 24 different players in NIP. These range from game legends like Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund and Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz to promising young talents such as Max "maxster" Jansson, recently promoted from the academy team. This constant player turnover is one reason why IEM Fall 2021 and IEM Oakland 2017 are the only significant tournament wins for a player once hailed as one of Sweden's most talented.

- I don’t know how many players I’ve played with at this point. I’ve been starting over from step one numerous times. It’s a new team every year, so I don’t see it as that crazy that I don’t have many trophies. If we had played with a roster for more than a year, I think we would have gotten more trophies, REZ reflects.

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So why has Fredrik "REZ" Sterner stayed with NIP instead of seeking new challenges, as other players from struggling teams often do?

- I want to bring NIP back to where it was. We were good at one point and I just want to get it back to that point where it was legendary. That is my goal and dream right now, and if I quit this progress, I would just quit my dream, you know? So, that's why I'm still here. I'm so committed to what we're building here," REZ explains.

Despite the lack of trophies and the growing criticism of the organization in recent years, Fredrik "REZ" Sterner remains optimistic about Ninjas in Pyjamas as a whole, claiming he is “super happy with the organization so far.” However, when discussing his individual aspirations and whether he has wasted his prime playing for NIP, REZ is clear:

- I never had a chance really to shine in these rosters. That's what people see, and I can kind of feel it as well. But it's not really in that perspective I like to see it. I never saw myself like ‘I have to shine here in this roster and it's my time to shine’. I never thought of it that way. I saw it more as ‘what can we do to just be a good team’. I don't regret any of it really, REZ replies before adding.

- I have always put the team first. And that's why I think I'm still here, because I did everything I could to improve the team. Whatever I could do, I would do it. The role changes I did, I did it for the team because it was the best option at the moment, even though it didn't fit me as a player. I sacrificed my individual skill just to improve whatever I could to make us better. But obviously, it didn't work out most of the times.

It’s not only been on the server that Fredrik "REZ" Sterner has experienced a hectic time in NIP. The lack of success has also seen the organization of Sweden’s most prominent esports team come under scrutiny from the public after a number of unfortunate cases.

- Of course, it has been chaotic with the different leaderships in the organization. There have been a lot of ups and downs that people don’t agree with," REZ notes before praising the new leadership of NIP, where the hiring of Erik Wendel as the Director of Esports seems to have been a step in the right direction.

- I would say when we got Erik it was probably the best addition we ever had in NIP in a long time. How he has managed to turn this ship around and structure NIP the way it is now. It is super impressive. I know it was not an easy job for him, so, I'm so glad we got him. And I think we are on a really good path now.

One of the new initiatives from the management of NIP has been to allow players to voice their opinions in the process of selecting new teammates.

- That's what's been different from the past. Like now me and alex (in-game leader for NIP) actually had a say and a voice in these meetings we had with players. We talked to a lot of AWP’ers and players during the first months of the year. So, yeah, it's been really nice to actually be heard, because at the end of the day, I'm going to play with him. I'm going to play with the player we signed. So, it's good to see if you actually click with the guy or if we are on the same page.

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Later this week you can read more about the new NIP lineup, where REZ pinpoints Isak "isak" Fahlén as a crucial signing while praising Artem "r1nkle" Moroz and calling him a potential top 3 AWP’er in the world in the future.

It’s been a while since the Ninjas in Pyjamas were a dominating factor in CS:GO. The ESL One Cologne 2014 winners set their mark early on in the CS:GO era, but in the past years the results have been somewhat lackluster in comparison.

On the world ranking, however, NIP has been a top 20 team since the introduction of ranking in 2016. Only once in 2017, NIP was out of the top 20 for two weeks but has since then been featured among the best 20 teams in the world. Until yesterday.

On the latest update to the ranking, NIP dropped out of the top 20. Eternal Fire overtook the 20th place with just a single point.

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The many changes to the lineup have contributed to the lack of points on the ranking, but the biggest factor is the early knockouts in ESL Pro League Season 17 (17-20th), and IEM Katowice (13-16th).

In the past year, NIP switched out phzy, Plopski, hampus, and es3tag from their lineup, while device was sold to Astralis back in October. Brollan, Aleksib, headtr1ck, and k0nfig have been added as replacements leaving REZ as the only player with more than a year on NIP’s roster.

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hampus and es3tag are currently still under contract with NIP.

NIP will play their next match in the super-stacked BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe Group B, where they face Eternal Fire in the opening round. NIP is the 10th highest-ranked team in the group, where eight spots for the Paris Major are up for grabs, while 9-11th will get another chance in the Last Chance Qualifier.

The Ninjas in Pyjamas rifler Fredrik "REZ" Sterner has been playing well during the 2022 season. However, the Swedish team found it hard to reach success as they struggled during the big events. The Swedish organization is currently on the longest trophy drought in CS:GO with 1887 days without winning a trophy. 

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NIP also went through two roster changes during the 2022 season as device was out for nearly nine months due to personal illness. Former G2 and ENCE player Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen came in with hopes of leading the team to greater results. Also, Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin came from their biggest rivals Fnatic back in March as Plopski got benched due to poor results. Recent roster changes put Patrick "es3tag" Hansen on the bench as their new hope and AWPer Danyyl "headtr1ck" Valitov is joining the team on a permanent deal. 

REZ is turning 24 years old today, on this occasion, we have chosen to give you the best highlights from his 2022 season. 

Watch the impressive highlights and his robotic aim in the video below:

During the 2022 season, the now 24-year-old rifler was averaging 1.11 Rating / 1.12 Impact / 75.9 ADR / 0.70 KPR.

Scope.gg has once again revealed some fascinating facts from the BLAST Premier Fall Final event in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Heroic’s stavn got the highest number of wallbang kills throughout the event. A total of 15, as well as 17 kills through smokes. Should his PC be checked to see if there’s any ‘third party software’ running?

FaZe Clan’s ropz became the most accurate rifler of the event with an accuracy of 59.3%.

NiP’s REZ was the fastest sniper of the tournament with TTD (Time to Damage) of 199 ms. Meanwhile, s1mple was the slowest with TTD of 237 ms. TTD is basically the average time it took you from seeing the enemy player to dealing damage to them.

Heroic’s newest addition to the roster, jabbi, admired his skins for 47 minutes! Some players just can’t get enough of looking at their skins.

Aleksib died 13 times with a grenade in his hand or while reloading. For you guys out there, don’t let you self be caught off guard!

Aleksib

Jabbi

s1mple

ropz

stavn

Professional Counter-Strike is an industry where you often see players jump between multiple teams and organizations during their career - counting up to more than ten different teams in some cases.

But that's not the case for every CS:GO player. 

In this article, we highlight the most loyal players in the game. Players who have stayed with one organization despite big letdowns, disappointing results, and lucrative offers from other teams. Topping the list with quite a margin, we have Liquid's Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski who has represented the North American squad through thick and thin for over seven years. 

You can find the complete list down below. 

Top 10 players | Longest tenure with a single team

*The list only includes active players inside Top 30 (17/11)

1. {cflag:US} EliGE (Liquid) 22/3 2015 – 7 years, 7 months, 26 days

2. {cflag:DK} Xyp9x (Astralis) 18/1 2016 - 6 years, 9 months, 30 days

3. {cflag:NO} rain (FaZe) 20/1 2016 - 6 years, 9 months, 28 days

4. {cflag:UA} s1mple (NAVI) 4/8 2016 - 6 years, 3 months, 13 days

5. {cflag:SE} KRIMZ (fnatic) 24/10 2016 - 6 years, 0 months 24 days

5. {cflag:DK} gla1ve (Astralis) 24/10 2016 - 6 years, 0 months 24 days

7. {cflag:US} Brehze (NRG/Evil Geniuses) 19/12 2016 - 5 years, 10 months, 29 days

8. {cflag:DE} tabseN (BIG) 2/1 2017 - 5 years, 10 months, 15 days

9. {cflag:SE} REZ (Ninjas in Pyjamas) 12/6 2017 - 5 years, 5 months, 5 days

10. {cflag:ES} mopoz (Movistar Riders) 24/7 2017 - 5 years, 3 months, 24 days

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EliGE

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When Ninjas in Pyjamas last month announced the signing of Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen it resulted in a demotion for Hampus “hampus” Poser, who saw his in-game leader role be taken away from him and placed on the shoulders of the newly arrived Finn.

Something that would seem like a negative thing for some people - But not in this case, hampus explains in a [link:{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE6kgvRVv5k","isNewTab":true,"text":"video"}] on NIP’s YouTube channel.

- Having Aleksib join the team feels super nice. It means that I’m not the in-game leader anymore, which I’m very happy about. I mean I want to be an IGL, but I also do not want to be the IGL. I’m just happy that after being at NIP for two something years, it feels good to try something new.

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NIP teammate and fellow Swede, Frederik “REZ” Sterner is also pleased with Aleksib’s arrival, pointing towards his leadership approach, which is commonly known as a very structured style with Aleksib micromanaging his troops.

- I think Aleksib is going to bring a lot of stability, structure and a lot of protocols, like really set in stone in how we are going to approach and play the game. I really like that, REZ says in the video. 

Aleksib, REZ, hampus and the rest of NIP are set to start their Major campaign next week after qualifying as Legends for the Rio de Janeiro-located tournament. You can find today's schedule for the Major down below.  

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hampus

{cflag:SE} Ludvig ”Brollan” Brolin - 1.13 rating in 2022

{cflag:SE} Frederik ”REZ” Sterner - 1.11 rating in 2022

{cflag:FI} Aleksi ”Aleksib” Virolainen - 1.07 rating in 2022

{cflag:SE} Hampus ”hampus” Poser - 1.04 rating in 2022

{cflag:DK} Patrick ”es3tag” Hansen - 0.97 rating in 2022

Ninjas in Pyjamas arrive at IEM Rio Major in fine form, with the Swedish squad having experienced an impressive start with their new-look roster. After the former G2 IGL Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen joined the pack, NIP has won five matches in a row only giving up one map against Cloud9.

What to expect from Ninjas in Pyjamas at the Brazilian Major is a tough question to answer. If they could field their superstar AWPer Nicolai “device” Reedtz, things would look a lot different for the Ninjas. With Frederik “REZ” Sterner on the AWP instead of his usual rifle, NIP have to rely much on their star player in Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin.

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NIP’s best result this year is their first place at Global Esports Tour Dubai where they defeated MOUZ in the Grand Final to secure the $100.000 1st price. That is the only Grand Final appearance from the Swedes in 2022, if you take away their recent win at the lower-tier Svenska Cuppen.

Brollan

es3tag

It’s time for the 16th edition of the prestigious ESL Pro League to be carried out. This time the prominent tournament is set to be played in Malta presenting a staggering $823.000 prize pool. There will be 24 teams playing all being divided in four groups of six.

Today Group A will be concluded. Only Team Vitality is certain of their destiny after four wins in a row. All other teams are still in the fight for spot in the playoffs.

You can watch today’s schedule and official match stream down below.

Battling for survival at the ongoing BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022 event were NiP and Evil Geniuses, a match that everyone was expecting NiP to cruise through with somewhat ease. Whilst Evil Geniuses did look good themselves in periods of the Bo3-series, the fact that the brawl lasted three close maps was a surprise to many. 

We spoke with a dissatisfied "REZ" who felt that he had more to offer than what he showed today, as well as the team's overall performance against Evil Geniuses. 

After the victory against Evil Geniuses, the star player of Ninjas in Pyjamas "REZ" had the following to say in regard to their performance against EG: 

To hear more from "REZ" you can watch the exclusive interview with the Swedish star player down below: 

One of the things that can be very hard to train in CS:GO is the ability to clutch. Even though you might be mechanically gifted, it does not mean that you are also automatically good in clutch situations.

The clutch is a thinking man's game. While having good mechanics always helps, it is not always enough in 1vX situations. You need to have knowledge, experience, and great composure. You need to be patient, but decisive. And you need to be able to out-mindgame your opponents.

All of the guys on today's list have all of these qualities in abundance. They are of course also incredibly gifted players mechanically, but they are more than that. When their teams need them the most, and when every single eye in the arena is following their every movement, they come to life.

These are the five players with the most 1vX wins versus Top20 teams in 2022.

You can watch some of the best clutches from 2022 in the video below. 

hades

torzsi

blameF

sh1ro

Whilst there is still no sign of the legendary "device" on the current active NiP roster, the four Swedes and a single Dane that make up the roster of NiP are on a roll. After having their IGL in "hampus" join up with the team in person once again, it seems as if the Ninjas in Pyjamas could go quite far in the prestigious IEM Cologne 2022 event if they keep up their great performance. Having just beat Heroic 2-0 in their first Bo3-series, NiP are off to a great start at the event. 

[link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/news/nip-wins-scandinavian-battle-against-heroic","isNewTab":true}]

We talked with NIP's main rifler and star player "REZ" just after their victory in the Scandinavian brawl against Heroic. The satisfaction wasn't hard to spot on the 24-year-old face of "REZ" and when asked about their goals at the IEM Cologne event 2022, the Swede was confident and said the following: 

To hear more of what the confident "REZ" had to say after their victory against Heroic you can watch the exclusive interview posted down below: 

We have probably all had the thought, how difficult can it be to play Counter-Strike as a professional? Well, the answer to that question is that it is very difficult. Like any other sport or profession, it takes many hours of perfecting the craft for a player to reach the highest level of competition. It is not all about clicking on heads. To become a professional CS:GO player you need drive, passion, talent, and much more. 

A beautiful documentary made by CS:GO tournament organizers BLAST Premier showcases just how tough a journey players must take to become the absolute best. Besides talent on the server, it takes a certain mentality, winners are born not made. Take a look at how "REZ", "hampus", and "mantuu" managed to become professional CS:GO players as well as what it takes to stay at the top once you have climbed your way to success: 

mantuu

Elimination was on the line as the four teams that lost their Bo1s in Group B kicked off the second day at IEM Dallas. NIP was the only European team among the four and were joined by Complexity, Liquid, and Imperial.

"fer" started hot on Imperial's pick of Overpass which gave the Brazilians a small 3-0 T-side lead. But as soon as the rifles came out for Liquid, they took over completely. Everyone except for "nitr0" was far and above carrying their weight and the Brazilians had a lot of problems with the clock, which resulted in an 11-1 run for the North Americans to end the half.

With the huge halftime lead, Liquid unsurprisingly won the map. Imperial did though manage to take five rounds in a row towards the end, giving them a bit of momentum heading into the second map.

The first half of the second map of Vertigo could have almost been a copy-paste from Overpass. Imperial got the 3-0 CT-side lead after a 2v5 pistol-round clutch from "fer" and "VINI", but once again Liquid came in with an 11-1 run that had them sitting comfortably at halftime.

"boltz" who also played a good first half, continued that in the second half which saw Imperial starting to make a comeback. It did not come to fruition though as Liquid, just like map one, was just too far ahead.

After just two days and zero map victories, Imperial are eliminated from IEM Dallas, while Liquid hold on.

9-16 (Overpass) | {cflag:CA} NAF - 1.51 Rating / 24-13 K-D / 93.3 ADR

9-16 (Vertigo) | {cflag:US} EliGE - 1.50 Rating / 22-13 K-D / 98.0 ADR

MVP: {cflag:CA} Keith "NAF" Markovic - 1.50 Rating / 46-27 K-D / 96.7 ADR

, "Plopski" continued the good work he had shown yesterday in their loss against BIG. This time, instead of being accompanied by "Brollan" at the top of the scoreboard, it was "REZ" that stepped up. This resulted in a 10-5 CT side half on Complexity's pick of Vertigo.

After a win in the second-half pistol round, the Ninjas quickly found map point at 15-6. The Americans managed to take a few rounds afterward, but it was never really close, and NIP closed it out safely after a monster performance from "REZ".

Complexity got off to a much better start on the second map of Overpass. The Americans caught fire early and took a 5-0 CT-side lead. Unluckily for them, they took the foot off the gas just a little which let the Ninjas sneak in and take seven rounds before the break.

The Ninjas continued their momentum from the first half and took six rounds right out of the break. The Scandinavian team dropped a handful of rounds towards the end, but still managed to take it over the line. Once again it was "REZ" that was the clear difference-maker in the matchup, sitting alone at the top of the scoreboard.

The Ninjas In Pyjamas finish the Bo3 in just two maps and eliminate Complexity at IEM Dallas.

9-16 (Vertigo) | {cflag:SE} REZ - 2.11 Rating / 32-12 K-D / 136.2 ADR

12-16 (Overpass) | {cflag:SE} REZ - 1.65 Rating / 29-18 K-D / 111.6 ADR

MVP: {cflag:SE} Frederik "REZ" Sterner - 1.87 Rating / 61-30 K-D / 123.2 ADR

Imperial

compLexity Gaming

Team Liquid

After Astralis' confident victory against Movistar Riders to secure themselves a spot in the Semi-finals of BLAST Premier Spring Showdown, it was time to find out which opponent they would be facing the day after tomorrow in the Semi-finals of the event. Locking horns in their own Quarter-final brawl were NiP and Bad News Eagles. It is perhaps no surprise that NiP were the favorites going into the Bo3-series, seeing that they are ranked quite a bit higher than the underdogs of Bad News Eagles. What was a surprise, however, was the performance from Bad News Eagles. With confidence, they managed to make NiP look completely discombobulated on Mirage and to force an incredible comeback from the Scandinavians on Ancient. Ultimately it all came down to the third and final map. After their crucial comeback on Ancient, NiP found themselves behind again on Inferno. Once again the Scandinavians managed an incredible comeback and took home the series 2-1. 

The first map of the Bo3-series was picked by Bad News Eagles and saw the brawl kick off on Mirage. Whilst it wasn't a big surprise that Bad News Eagles opted for Mirage as their map pick, seeing that they are currently sitting on a 71% to NiP's 43% win-rate in the past three months (7 maps), it is still a map that is known to favor players with great mechanical skill, players such as NiP's superstar "REZ". The threat of "REZ", however, never came to be a reality. Instead, it was Bad News Eagles to take control over Mirage from the get-go. A great T-sided half concluded with Bad News Eagles in the lead at 9-6. If the second half showed a promising Bad News Eagles, the second half was spectacular. Not allowing NiP to take home a single round on their T-side of Mirage, Bad News Eagles silenced the Scandinavians and took home the victory on Mirage at the scoreline of 16-6. 

The second map of the Bo3-series was, of course, picked by NiP and meant a trip to the Jungle for the second map of the series. Ancient is a map that NiP have picked into a fair bit and a map where, if allowed, "hampus" can be a real headache for his opponents with aggressive plays, creative lurks, and punishing rotations. Starting on their T-side, the theme from Mirage continued as NiP had trouble finding a way through the defense of Bad News Eagles. Carrying over their momentum from Mirage, an early lead was established by the Bad News Eagles boys. At the scoreline of 11-4, it seemed as if Bad News Eagles had already managed to post an incredible upset against NiP. This, however, wasn't the case. As bad as their T-side had been, as impressive was the CT-side of NiP. Stringing round after round together, the Scandinavians were able to force a third and final map by taking Ancient at the scoreline of 16-12.

The third and final map of the Bo3-series was decided to be Inferno, notorious for being the deciding factor in any great Bo3-series. After the impressive comeback on Ancient, NiP had proven that perhaps they had finally woken up. This, however, didn't seem to be the case once Inferno got underway. This time starting on their CT-side, NiP were challenged by an aggressive Bad News Eagles roster from start to finish in the first half. The offense of Bad News Eagles managed to secure an even bigger lead this time at halftime. At the scoreline of 12-3, NiP had to muster up yet another incredible comeback to avoid elimination from the event. Whilst it seemed almost impossible for NiP to do what they had just on Ancient once again on Inferno, it slowly but surely became a reality. A close to perfect T-sided half sent Bad News Eagles in turmoil and at the scoreline of 13-13 things were all tied up between the two rosters. At the scoreline of 15-15, overtime was needed to find a victor between the two rosters. Feeling themselves more than ever, NiP closed out overtime with confidence and managed to claim the victory at the scoreline of 19-17. 

NiP – Bad News Eagles 2-1 | BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2022 Europe

6-16 (Mirage) |  sinnopsyy - 2.00 Rating / 26-11 K-D / 120.8 ADR

16-12 (Ancient) | {cflag:SE} REZ - 1.54 Rating / 30-17 K-D / 111.8 ADR

19-17 (Inferno) | {cflag:SE} Brollan - 1.53 Rating / 31-20 K-D / 102.3 ADR

MVP: {cflag:SE} Frederik "REZ" Sterner - 1.34 Rating / 79-56 K-D / 97.3 ADR

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sinnopsyy

Bad News Eagles

The Swedes won the seeding match against ENCE today with a 2-1 victory.

Both teams stole their opponent's map pick to allow a third decider map to settle the matter.

Here it was Fredrik 'REZ' Sterner, who made the difference. The Swede went 25-15 in K-D during Overpass, which ended with a solid 16-7 win for NIP.

ENCE will have to settle for a spot in the Challengers Stage at PGL Antwerp.

ENCE

As we begin to reach a conclusion for the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Europe RMR B event, there are fewer and fewer qualifying spots left as time goes on. One of these very important tickets to the upcoming PGL Major in Antwerp was on the line when the Ninjas in Pyjamas locked horns with Sinners. Both teams were sitting on a 2-1 record and a victory today would mean instant qualification to the Major. 

From start to finish it was clear that one team was simply just better today than the other. The Scandinavians of NIP proved to be extremely resilient and fended off any trouble that the Sinners tried throwing their way. After two stellar performances on Inferno and Overpass, it was NIP to claim a 2-0 victory and see themselves earn a well-deserved qualifying spot for the upcoming major. 

The first map of the Bo3-series was picked by Sinners and saw the brawl begin on the soil of Inferno. Being one of the most played maps in the history of Counter-Strike, Inferno is a map that almost any team can say that they are somewhat comfortable on. Sinners, however, have been incredibly scary on Inferno as of late. In the past three months, they have collected an impressive win-rate of 79% throughout 19 maps. Whilst this may be the case for Sinners, once the map got underway, an intense first half with very little separating the two rosters ensued. Going toe-to-toe with each other, Sinners and NIP could walk away at halftime with the scoreline as close as possible at 8-7. Whilst the first half had been a close affair, the second half showcased a dominant NIP on their T-side. With aggression and intent, it was the Scandinavians to take home Inferno at the scoreline of 16-8, only allowing Sinners a single round on their CT-side.

The second map of the Bo3-series was to be played on Overpass and was, of course, picked by the Ninjas in Pyjamas. Once again it was a close battle in the first half of Overpass, this time with Sinners gaining a slight advantage over NIP. At the scoreline of 9-6, it was Sinners who looked poised to take home Overpass and force a third and final map in the Bo3-series. Whilst little separated the two rosters in the first half of Ovperass, the second half was dominated by the Scandinavian Ninjas. Only allowing Sinner two rounds on their T-side, it was a stunning CT-sided performance from NIP led by "REZ" that took them across the finish line at 16-11. 

NIP - Sinners 2-0 | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Europe RMR B

16-8 (Inferno) | {cflag:SE} REZ - 1.50 Rating / 21-13 K-D / 99.1 ADR

16-11 (Overpass) | {cflag:SE} REZ - 1.44 Rating / 25-13 K-D / 83.7 ADR

MVP: {cflag:SE} Frederik "REZ" Sterner - 1.45 Rating / 46-26 K-D / 91.0 ADR

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PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Europe RMR B overview - Bad News Eagles vs ASG (2-0) 

Whilst the brawl between NIP and Sinners was underway, another brawl took place over on the B-stream between Bad News Eagles and ASG. Whereas NIP and Sinners found themselves fighting for a qualifying spot, the battle between Bad News Eagles and ASG was to avoid elimination from the RMR event. 

Avoiding elimination, and therefore keeping their chances of earning a spot at the PGL Major in Antwerp alive, was Bad News Eagles. In just two maps, the eagles managed to fend off ASG and secure a much-needed victory. The 2-0 victory against ASG means that Bad News Eagles are still in contention for a possible qualifying spot at the RMR event. 

SinnerS

The second matchup of the 1-0 teams was the battle between Ninjas in Pyjamas and Bad News Eagles, who went head-to-head on Ancient.

NIP showed right from the get-go why they were the heavy favorites in this Bo1. Starting on the heavily favored CT side, a hot and fiery "REZ" led his team to a colossal 9-0 lead. The Bad News Eagles, who at times looked lost for answers and a bit uncoordinated, only managed to take two rounds before the break, putting them in a really tough spot as they switch to the CT-side.

It turned out that all the Bad News Eagles needed was to get on the CT-side, because as soon as they did everything looked much smoother for the Kosovars. The Eagles impressively pulled 9 rounds back with "sinnopsyy" doing an extremely stellar job in the fragging department, before the Ninjas were able to close the game at 16-11.

NIP now join the Players at 2-0, while the Eagles go to the 1-1 bracket.

NIP - Bad News Eagles 1-0 | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Europe RMR B

16-11 (Inferno) | {cflag:SE} REZ - 1.97 Rating / 33-12 K-D / 116.0 ADR

Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Liquid went head to head last night in an entertaining match at ESL Pro League. 

Both teams gave it all in the match that went all three maps. During the game, both Keith "NAF" Markovic and Fredrik "REZ" Sterner produced two superb 1vs3 clutches, that we have combined in today's Pley of the Day. Watch them both in the clip down below.

Top 5 Leaderboards | ESL Pro League Season 15 playoffs

4. {cflag:ES} mopoz (Movistar Riders) | 59.5%

 (percentage of rounds in which the player had a kill, assist, survived or was traded)

	30 days	90 days
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Maps count	0	0

REZ

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