Astralis overcome NiP; to face MIBR in Major semi

Astralis won Mirage, 16-2, and Dust2, 16-14, to beat Ninjas in Pyjamas and move on to the IEM Katowice 2019 semi-finals, where they will face MIBR.

Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander kicked the match off on Mirage by taking his headset off and getting the crowd going after three kills on the B site to gave his team the early lead on the defense. The first gun round also went the way of the Danes, following a four-kill with a 1vs2 by the clutch minister, Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth. Astralis then started to play a flawless brand of Counter-Strike, stopping every single attempt by Ninjas in Pyjamas to hit 15-0 at the half.

The second pistol round went the way of the Ninjas thanks to a triple by Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner on the B site, as he killed the bomb planter and two more to tip the scales in his team’s favor. Having lost the eco round, Astralis then hit it home with a B play, closing Mirage out 16-2.

Astralis beat NiP in two maps to advance to the semi-finals

A triple by Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz lifted Astralis on the attacking side of Dust2, giving his team the first pistol round. With 3-0 on the board, a full house by Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg and Dennis "⁠dennis⁠" Edman got Ninjas in Pyjamas in the game. An A execute then got Astralis back in the driver’s seat, who went on to take an 8-1 lead before the Swedes could get back on the board, winning two, before Astralis went on another rampage. With 11-3 on the board, dennis was able to tally one more for Ninjas in Pyjamas by ninja defusing on A.

The second half saw dennis open with three glock kills as Ninjas in Pyjamas took a fifth round and started to mount a comeback, winning seven of the eight first rounds. Astralis then won a violent retake on A, but were instantly reset as dennis caught two Danish players off-guard on A after a short rush. Ninjas in Pyjamas were able to take a 14-13 lead but three opening frags from Xyp9x brought it back even. With the momentum on their side, Astralis managed to close it out in the last round of regulation, 16-14.

IEM Katowice 2019Best of 3 AstralisMatchpage 2 0 1st March 2019 Ninjas in Pyjamas 16Mirage 2 16Dust2 14

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Emil 'Magisk' ReifMagisk	41 - 22	+19	84.6	1.41
Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethXyp9x	41 - 23	+18	93.9	1.39
Nicolai 'device' Reedtzdevice	36 - 24	+12	79.9	1.33
Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussendupreeh	37 - 30	+7	83.0	1.25
Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossandergla1ve	25 - 28	-3	57.8	0.86

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	30 - 35	-5	74.3	0.97
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	26 - 30	-4	61.8	0.88
Jonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonLekr0	26 - 37	-11	64.9	0.82
Dennis 'dennis' Edmandennis	25 - 38	-13	53.3	0.66
Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundGeT_RiGhT	20 - 40	-20	53.8	0.55

MIBR #4 Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFernando 'fer' AlvarengaMarcelo 'coldzera' DavidEpitacio 'TACO' de MeloJoão 'felps' Vasconcellos Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossander Age: 23 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 1124 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.66 Nicolai 'device' Reedtz Age: 23 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.17 Maps played: 1281 KPR: 0.79 DPR: 0.63 Ninjas in Pyjamas #6 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergChristopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundDennis 'dennis' EdmanJonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonFredrik 'REZ' Sterner Astralis #1 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderNicolai 'device' ReedtzEmil 'Magisk' Reif Dennis 'dennis' Edman Age: 28 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.04 Maps played: 937 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.68 Andreas 'Xyp9x' Højsleth Age: 23 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.04 Maps played: 1458 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.61 Patrik 'f0rest' Lindberg Age: 30 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.13 Maps played: 1474 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.65 Fredrik 'REZ' Sterner Age: 21 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 738 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.66