The Swedish Ninjas was not deemed many chances before the match. It was their first match with the new player Erik “ztr” Gustafsson on the roster against the number 1 in the world.
At BLAST Premier Spring Ninjas in Pyjamas picked Overpass as their map pick. Here the Swedes won both halves and took a deserved 16-13 victory, despite Peter “Dupreeh” Rasmussen’s excellent showing.
The Danes picked Inferno as their map pick. Astralis was the best team on Inferno in 2020, which only emphasized NIP’s well-oiled machine on their CT-side on Inferno. The Ninjas went to halftime leading 9-6.
In the second half, it looked like a classic Astralis. The Danes quickly won six rounds in a row to take the lead back. But then the Ninjas fought back. Frederik “REZ” Sterner woke up and gave his team a golden opportunity to win the match by making some important kills in the last couple of rounds. And in the end, the Swedes won another map with 16-13 to seal the deal. An impressive display from Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Astralis will now have to make a run in the lower bracket to reach the Final.
Highlight of the match:
Erik “ztr” Gustafsson delivered an impressive debut including a nice 4k!
.@ztrcss IS SO GOOOOD#GONINJAS #BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/qnGvFaVZT8
— Ninjas In Pyjamas (@NIP) February 4, 2021
