NiP stump Heroic in IEM Cologne Group A opener

The Ninjas in Pyjamas have surprised everyone with a 2-0 victory over Heroic in their opening group stage match at IEM Cologne. The Swedish dominated roster won 16-13,16-13 over Heroic sending Heroic down to the lower bracket of the group stage.

After winning the opening pistol round, NiP only managed to secure one more round victory before Heroic won three consecutive  rounds to take the early lead on Ancient. NiP is one of the stronger teams on Ancient and watching them on the map was a treat for CS: GO fans. Despite the team’s attempts, however, Heroic still managed to get seven rounds on the T-side. 

On the T-side, NiP managed to get the upper hand after Heroic won the pistol rounds. NiP won seven of the next eight rounds, establishing a clear lead and only a couple of round away from victory. Hampus and es3tag stole the show as the ended up with 29 and 20 kills each to dominate Heroic. Hampus, in particular, was very impressive with a 110.1 ADR and a 1.61 rating.

NiP continued its dominant form into the second map where it started with a 7-0 lead. Heroic managed to string together three rounds after that, but NiP closed out the first half with a 10-5 score. The massive lead on the T-side of Inferno was always going to be a tough task for Heroic to overcome. 

But Heroic were not ready to bow down just yet. Heroic did start strong on the T-side, however, the team was simply unable to match NiP’s pace as they inched closer to victory. Ultimately, NiP secured the win in the series with another 16-13 score and a 2-0 score for the series. NiP will now face the winner of Navi and Mouz in the IEM Cologne 2022 Group A.

This series highlights some of the issues for Heroic who recently made a roster change replacing Refrezh with Jabbi from Copenhagen Flames. Despite being a top tier team, the roser change means Heroic runs the risk of going even lower in the rankings. It will take time for the team to find its form, but they are not yet done at IEM Cologne 2022. The team is now in the lower bracket and will face the loser of Navi and Mouz in a survival match.

A special mention has to be made of Team Vitality. The star studded roster has a mix of French and Danish rosters and continues to try to find itself in the grand scheme of things. How far they go in this tournament could very well determine the length of the current roster.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest CS: GO news and updates.

Featured Image Credit: ESL.