f0rest powers NiP to victory over FaZe at BLAST Pro Series Global Final

With a confident victory over FaZe (16-13 Vertigo, 16-7 Mirage), Ninjas in Pyjamas advanced to the upper-bracket final of the BLAST Pro Series Global Final in Bahrain.

The Ninjas went into the series by selecting Vertigo, a map both teams have only played once in the last three months, with both of them suffering one-sided defeats. The pick worked out for the Swedes, who eventually secured the match win over two maps in large thanks to Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg's inspired performance. Ninjas in Pyjamas will face the winner of the Astralis - Liquid game tomorrow for a place in the grand final, while FaZe will fight for their tournament life against the loser of said match.

Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David's triple on the CT pistol got FaZe off to a good start on Vertigo, which was followed by the European mixture grabbing a 4-0 lead on the defense. Ninjas in Pyjamas then showed why they picked the map, doing damage with their slow gun rounds, and taking a 5-4 lead. FaZe's counter was the double AWP, and it allowed them to take back the lead, but Jonas "⁠Lekr0⁠" Olofsson's 4K in the last round narrowed the gap again, leaving Ninjas in Pyjamas just one round behind before the switch.

The Swedes pulled ahead after an A retake on the pistol, and looked strong on the defense, going up 14-10. With a 5v2 advantage in the next round, it seemed like Ninjas in Pyjamas were going to cruise to the victory, but Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač and Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants turned it around and extended the battle on Vertigo. Eventually, Ninjas in Pyjamas managed to lock down the approaches and take a 16-13 win on their map pick.

The 31-year-old averaged a 1.50 rating against FaZe

f0rest continued his strong map one form and bagged Ninjas in Pyjamas the pistol round, helping them claim a 5-1 lead on the defensive side of Mirage. FaZe then found their footing, winning four out of six rounds, but just when they were supposed to capitalize on their success, they made a slip-up in an anti-force buy. Ninjas in Pyjamas then grabbed hold of the match once again, finishing the half 10-5 up.

Winning the second pistol round was much-needed for NiKo and co., but Simon "⁠twist⁠" Eliasson spoiled their plans with a quad kill on B. The score was 12-5 in Ninjas in Pyjamas's favor when FaZe won an eco-stack on A to get into the game. They managed to tie two rounds together, but losing a 4v3 advantage round and then a 1v2 clutch to twist spelled disaster, allowing Ninjas in Pyjamas to claim the 16-7 map victory, 2-0 for the series.

BLAST Pro Series Global Final 2019Best of 3 FaZeMatchpage 0 2 12th December 2019 Ninjas in Pyjamas 13Vertigo 16 7Mirage 16

FaZe	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Marcelo 'coldzera' Davidcoldzera	39 - 37	+2	80.0	1.04
Håvard 'rain' Nygaardrain	35 - 39	-4	73.1	1.00
Olof 'olofmeister' Kajbjerolofmeister	34 - 36	-2	69.9	0.98
Nikola 'NiKo' KovačNiKo	30 - 41	-11	63.2	0.78
Helvijs 'broky' Saukantsbroky	19 - 37	-18	50.4	0.65

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	54 - 33	+21	102.3	1.50
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	41 - 30	+11	80.2	1.20
Jonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonLekr0	31 - 34	-3	76.9	1.10
Nicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez ZamoraPlopski	33 - 30	+3	68.4	1.07
Simon 'twist' Eliassontwist	31 - 30	+1	67.2	1.01

Marcelo 'coldzera' David Age: 25 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 1.19 Maps played: 1093 KPR: 0.80 DPR: 0.61 Simon 'twist' Eliasson Age: 25 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 1248 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.67 FaZe #7 Olof 'olofmeister' KajbjerNikola 'NiKo' KovačHåvard 'rain' NygaardMarcelo 'coldzera' DavidHelvijs 'broky' Saukants Helvijs 'broky' Saukants Age: 18 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 261 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.63 Liquid #4 Nick 'nitr0' CannellaKeith 'NAF' MarkovicJonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiJake 'Stewie2K' YipRussel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken Astralis #1 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderNicolai 'device' ReedtzEmil 'Magisk' Reif Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač Age: 22 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 1.17 Maps played: 1148 KPR: 0.81 DPR: 0.67 Jonas 'Lekr0' Olofsson Age: 26 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 875 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.67 Patrik 'f0rest' Lindberg Age: 31 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.12 Maps played: 1635 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.65 Ninjas in Pyjamas #10 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergSimon 'twist' EliassonJonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonFredrik 'REZ' SternerNicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez Zamora