NiP defeats Cloud9 at IEM Katowice 2020

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team Ninjas in Pyjamas sent Cloud9 home from IEM Katowice 2020. The two teams faced off in round 1 of the lower bracket after losing their matches yesterday versus Vitality and Astralis. Now, NiP has defeated Cloud9 in a best-of-three series and knocked them out of the running. NiP, meanwhile, will move forward to the lower bracket semi-finals.

Map one: Overpass

Cloud9’s performance on Overpass yesterday as arguably one of the best CS:GO teams on the planet should have meant they’d take home a win versus NiP. Statistically, NiP performs well on this map (55.8% win rate) but has lost most of their recent games.

However, NiP completely countered Cloud9’s attempts. The first half started Cloud9 on the terrorist side. In an absolute steamroll, it took 12 rounds for C9 to manage a single round win. NiP made fantastic reads against their opponents. Cloud9 lost early control of long, bathrooms, and divider, forcing the squad to make plays towards B site. Despite their efforts, NiP consistently bested them in gunfights. Swapping sides didn’t make a significant difference in C9’s performance. NiP swiftly ended the first map with a scoreline of 16-2.

Map two: Vertigo

Map two, NiP’s pick, was one of their least played maps thus far: Vertigo. Both Cloud9 and NiP are relatively inexperienced on the map, having only played it once and five times, respectively, at the start of the series.

Out of the gate, it seemed like Cloud9 had gotten their act together with three straight round wins. But as soon as NiP’s economy stabilized in the fourth round, they won the next 12 rounds of the first half (12-3).

To C9’s credit, their performance on the t-side was miles better than anything seen in the first half, or even during the first map. They earned six rounds (two bomb detonations and wiped NiP four times) during the second half but were unable to secure a comeback. NiP finished Vertigo 16-9 and ended the series 2-0.

The full IEM Katowice 2020 bracket and tournament information can be seen here. Catch NiP’s next match Wednesday, Feb 26 at 9:30 AM ET. All matches are streamed live on the official ESL Twitch channel.