It’s do-or-die for Ninjas in Pyjamas ahead of Rogue and XSET matches on Day 3

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It’s do-or-die for Ninjas in Pyjamas today, as the Brazilians head into the final day of the group stage in third place.

Their start to the Berlin Major was electric, with the former world champions defeating an out-of-shape DWG KIA. In his international debut, Gustavo “Wizard” Gomes led the shinobis in what’s still one of the best-rated performances of the competition.

The celebrations didn’t last for long though, as XSET gave the ninjas a reality check in the form of a 3-7 loss. Joao “Kamikaze” Gomes hinted at the team’s discontent after the first day, explaining the team “made a lot of mistakes, choked a lot of rounds” in a post-game interview.

Kamikaze’s main focus regarding the team’s performances throughout the first day remained on the defense, admitting they “could’ve played a lot better.”

The extra attention proved vital, as NiP’s great defenses against Rogue on Bank made the final difference. After the game, the Swedish wunderkind William “Spoit” Löfstedt highlighted NiP’s tendency of “hiding in corners” exploited Rogue’s poor “droning” ability.

Kamikaze talked about Rogue’s defenses, praising them and Tom “Deapek” Piesma’s Echo plays. 

“They had some Echo drones there to get intel and peek, it was kind of complicated, we knew they were going to do this, but it's a strong map position, they played really well on defense,” he shared.

Kamikaze revealed that NiP starts talking about the upcoming game immediately after the previous one ends in order to keep their focus. 

“We forget what happened now and focus on the next one. We start talking about the bans for the next match,” he said.

After defeating DWG KIA in the first game of the group stage, the Koreans got themselves revenge by defeating the Brazilians on Skyscraper, 7-5. 

Now, the SI 2021 champions head into the final day of the group stage with six points to their name. Their rivals Rogue started the day with an overtime victory against DWG KIA, which lifted them into second place. 

Ninjas in Pyjamas need to defeat Rogue to keep their hopes of making it to the playoffs alive. An overtime loss to Rogue will mean that NiP will need the same or a better round differential than the Europeans at the end of the day to progress to the playoffs. However, a regulation loss would send the Brazilians home.

NiP’s eyes are now focused on qualifying for the Berlin Major playoffs, which will take place from Aug. 19 to Aug. 21.