The Swedish esports franchise became the first team to qualify for the group stage, defeating their Russian counterparts on Nuke (16-7) and then wrapping things up on their map pick, Mirage (16-8). Due to the loss, Spirit will make their way to the lower bracket of the play-in stage for an opportunity to continue their campaign in the $1 million tournament.

The opening map of the match was Nuke, selected by Spirit. From the outset, NiP demonstrated their dominance on the map. They started strong by winning the first two rounds with multi-kills from Fredik “REZ” Sterner.

However, Spirit quickly regained control by securing four consecutive rounds to establish a lead on the T-side. But NiP managed to bounce back thanks to Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen’s double-kill hold on the A site in the eighth round. The half ended with NiP maintaining a three-round advantage, and with Aleksib standing out with a 21-13 K-D and 1.45 rating.

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During the second half, Ninjas in Pyjamas started with a successful swift attack on the A bombsite, which provided them with an economic edge. They only lost one more round, securing their win on the map with a score of 16-7. The success was largely attributed to their smart map strategies and a standout performance by Aleksib.

The second map of the match was Mirage, chosen by NiP, and they maintained their winning streak in pistol rounds by securing their such round of the series. NiP established a commanding 6-0 lead on the T-side, with REZ spearheading their efforts. However, Spirit managed to make a comeback after two missteps from Aleksib, closing the half with NiP leading 8-7.

The second half of the game began with an outstanding defense of the A bombsite by REZ, resulting in a quadruple kill. This allowed NiP to convert their pistol round win and increase their lead to 10-7. Throughout the rest of the map, NiP kept their momentum and dominated the game, ultimately securing a 16-8 victory. Every player on the NiP roster ended the map with a rating above 1.00, highlighting a strong team performance.

This victory was a significant milestone for NiP as they strive to assert themselves in the tournament. Despite limited preparation time with only half-a-day’s worth of training, Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke still managed to elevate his game, posting a 1.04 rating over the two maps, compared to his less impressive 0.88 rating in the team’s opening match against MIBR.

Meanwhile, Spirit appeared to be out of their element during the entire series. The entire roster ended the two maps with an average rating below 1.00, with Igor “w0nderful” Zhdanov, who is usually a reliable player, facing difficulties and ending the series with a 0.66 rating.

Spirit now only have one opportunity to advance to the top 16 of IEM Katowice. On Friday they will face Sprout, who defeated Evil Geniuses in the first round of the lower bracket on Thursday.

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The Swedish CS: GO esports franchise swept their German counterparts in a 2-0 victory, defeating them on their map pick, Mirage, by a 16-14 statline and on Inferno (16-11). NiP were victors in the fixture largely due to Fredik “REZ” Sterner’s solid performance that saw him finish the game as the player of the match with a 1.41 rating.

The first map of the match, Mirage, began with BIG starting off strong on the T side. The franchise easily breezed through NiP and quickly established an early 5-0 lead. However, NiP eventually found their footing and with a successful hold on the B-site, they went on a streak of 8 consecutive round victories, bringing them to an 8-5 lead at halftime.

BIG fought back, led by Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz and Nils “k1to” Gruhne, and managed to push the match to 30 rounds. NiP was able to withstand the pressure, and a double-kill from Hampus “hampus” Poser with the Deagle allowed them to win the last round and secure a 16-14 victory on Mirage.

On the second map of the series, Inferno, BIG started strong by winning their pistol round. The German franchise, who had a flawless pistol round record on Inferno, secured a 2-0 lead on the CT side. Nevertheless, NiP quickly regained the upper hand by taking a 7-3 lead as REZ began to dominate the game with his performance. Despite having a relatively quiet first map, the 25-year old Swedish rifler shone on Inferno, registering a 1.67 rating after posting 28 kills (the most from both teams), with a 15 kill-death differential and a 98.7 ADR.

Despite BIG’s strong start with another successful pistol round, they were unable to maintain their momentum as Ninjas in Pyjamas took control of the game, winning six consecutive rounds and securing map points. The outstanding display on the CT side by REX led his team to a 16-11 victory and closed the series with a 2-0 score in their favor.

NiP’s victory over BIG has secured their spot in Group C for an additional two days, where they will now face Natus Vincere, who suffered a defeat at the hands of G2 Esports and as such found themselves in the lower bracket. The Wednesday, January 25 fixture will see both team battle for the final spot in the group’s Grand Final, and a chance to advance to the Spring Final.

According to GG.BET, The Ukrainain franchise is favorite to win the game with odds designated at $1.56 and outsiders NiP pegged at $2.4. This match presents an opportunity for NiP to seek revenge against Natus Vincere, as the CIS squad defeated them in their opening match and sent them to the lower bracket.

Prior to their recent loss to NiP, BIG were relegated to the lower bracket by a clean sweep (0-2) defeat against G2 in their first outing of the BLAST Premier Spring Groups. Despite their terrible run in the group, the franchise still has a chance to secure a spot at the Spring Final. The German squad can still advance by winning two best-of-three matches in the Play-In Stage, but any more losses sustained will ultimately eliminate them from the competition.

In their Play-In Stage campaign, BIG will face off with the Group B 3rd place team in the January 24 matchup between OG and Team Liquid. A win in that bout scheduled to take place on January 27, will see the franchise a win away from making it to the Spring Finals.
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The proposed collection was inspired by “technology, innovation, and tradition”, according to the press release. In addition, the new range will be designed with the help of data and research from the Fashion Innovation Center (FIC).

Chief Executive Officer of Ninjas in Pyjamas, Hicham Chahine, stated that it was a pleasure to be collaborating with one of the world’s most recognized sportswear brands.

“FILA is truly an iconic brand within sports and entertainment. We are inspired by their elite heritage, heroic athletes and spirit of reinvention,” he said.

“NIP is thrilled to be joining FILA as they engage with a younger demographic and new industries like esports. We are proud to be a guiding force as FILA explores using technology to create transformational experiences.”

FILA is no stranger to the world of professional gaming. In 2019, the company entered the esports scene through a partnership with the North American organization Counter Logic Gaming.

In spite of this, the agreement with NiP is the company’s second esports deal, and it comes as the business strives to establish itself as a leader in the fast-growing esports fashion market.

FILA is just the latest in a growing list of official partners for NiP, joining the likes of English football club Leeds United, gaming brand Razer, and online betting provider Betway.

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Dev1ce was Astralis’ star AWPer for over five years, from January 2016 to April 2021, and was an essential part of the team’s climb to become a top CS:GO franchise between 2018 and 2019.

The player led a destructive run in 2018 and played a massive part in the four Major tournament wins the team clinched that year. These include the 2018 ELEAGUE Premier, IEM Chicago, the FACEIT London Major, and the ESL Pro League Finals. They also won the coveted Intel Grand Slam that year.

While the player recently revealed his intention to play on the team once again, he is currently locked in a contract with Ninjas in Pyjamas with over 2.5 years left. The team added him to the lineup with a three-year contract in April 2021.

According to reports, the transfer conversation between NiP and Astralis is in its early stages, and no decision has been made yet. Both teams are reportedly trying to agree on the transfer fee, with Astralis already placing a bid for dev1ce. NiP have apparently not accepted the offer and have no intention of getting paid significantly less than the amount they bought dev1ce for.

When Ninjas in Pyjamas added dev1ce to their lineup, the team reportedly had to pay an astonishing $1 million (6.5 million Danish krone) to take the player before the end of his contract with Astralis.

At the moment, NiP are reportedly searching for a “fair market price, which isn’t much above what NiP bought him for.” The player’s last game with the team was in December 2021, after which he moved himself to the team’s inactive lineup shortly after.

At the time, dev1ce mentioned burnout and fatigue as the reasons for his hiatus. Since then, dev1ce has not participated in a professional CS:GO match. He has, however, been active on FACEIT for the past seven inactive months and has played hundreds of games there. The player has reportedly participated in around 38 games from the start of September to September 12th.

According to reports, the NiP started considering offers for the player’s transfer in August and had already had conversations with a number of esports organizations. Dev1ce, on his part, apparently wants to make his comeback after his extended hiatus with another team despite NiP not having a primary sniper at the moment.

Ahead of the IEM Rio Major Europe Regional Major Ranking (RMR), Ninjas in Pyjamas notably replaced their rifler for the past three years, Nicolas “Plopski” Zamora, with Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen. Aleksib was previously the captain in G2, but was moved to the team’s bench in mid-August. His move also hastened the team’s move to English as their primary mode of in-game communication.

The rosters of teams set to participate in the RMR, NiP included, are already set and locked in, so dev1ce will likely not make his comeback during the IEM Rio Major cycle even if he gets signed to a team before then. The AWPer is more likely to return to competitive play after November 13, when the Major ends.
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“NIP changed my life and I just wanna thank for all this years of achievements and support. I wish the best of luck for the remaining players and I wanna thank you guys too for all the things we did and for the friendship we have. I’m a free agent at the moment looking for a team to play or coach. I wanna say thanks to the nip and all fanbases who were always very kind to me through all the years. Thank you so much! see ya.”

What was once a rumor is now official. Chatter about his departure was first brought to light by BLIX.GG’s Rafael “Rafinha” Ferriera but it was only a rumor at the time.

Rafinha reported that the organization had already started eyeing candidates who will replace Julio. The first target was reportedly w7m esports’ Diego “Kheyze” Zanello, but that deal broke down.

Subsequent reports suggested that NiP was pursuing former Golden Kids player Gustavo “Wizard” Gomes. However, there is no update on that front.

Julio joined NiP in 2018 from Black Dragons e-sports, and has been with the franchise ever since. He was one of the longest-standing members of the team.

The time Julio spent with NiP could also be considered productive, as he played a key role in the organization’s success over the years.

In 2019, Julio and NiP won the Pro League Season 10 in Latin America and secured a finals berth. Unfortunately, they were swept in the quarterfinals by Team Reciprocity.

From then on, NiP had an incredible 2020, with their worst finish in any competition being fourth. After a dominating performance in the 2020 Six Invitational, they failed to complete the job after falling 3-2 to Spacestation Gaming in the grand final.

A year later, they won the Six Invitational and went home with $1 million of the $3 million prize pool. Although Gustavo “Psycho” Rigal was named the grand final MVP, Julio’s contributions were immense.

Despite their run, Julio believes his time with the team is over and is open to getting signed as a player or coach. It is worth noting that this is the first change to the team since 2019.

Life goes on for NiP, as they will have to continue competing without Julio. The team has not had much good fortune in 2022, failing to qualify for the Copa Elite Six after a tenth-placed finish in the Brasileir?o Stage 1. They missed the Charlotte Six Major by extension.

Nonetheless, they have an opportunity to redeem themselves in Brasileir?o Stage 2. A top-four finish will guarantee them a spot in the Copa Elite Six, where another impressive performance will seal the Six August Major berth.

NiP has not missed the Six Invitational since 2019. Winning a Major will be a step in the right direction to ensure their streak continues.

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