NiP win Europe Minor over OpTic

After making their way to the final through the lower-bracket, Ninjas in Pyjamas won the Europe Minor over OpTic with a 2-0 scoreline (16-8 Dust2, 16-7 Nuke).

Dust2 was the map that started off the grand final of the Europe Minor, with Ninjas in Pyjamas picking it unexpectedly. The opening of the map was back-and-forth, but OpTic was the team to establish dominance first, with Jakob "⁠JUGi⁠" Hansen leading the way for his team as they tied six rounds together, back-to-back (7-3).

In the following round, JUGi got a double entry, but Ninjas in Pyjamas found a way back in to stop the rot, eventually making a full T-side comeback to end the half 8-7 up. Jonas "⁠Lekr0⁠" Olofsson clutched a 1v2 in the pistol to continue his team's streak, with a B site lockdown in the first buy round seeing the Ninjas get on the home stretch, 13-7. OpTic stole away the next round, but Ninjas in Pyjamas struck back with a buy that consisted of three AWPs and a SCAR-20, closing out the game 16-8.

After a rocky tournament, NiP were convincing in the grand final

Despite the pistol round going OpTic's way, Ninjas in Pyjamas were the better-looking side early into Nuke, taking a 6-4 Terrorist-side lead by slowly working the map and finding picks. Ninjas in Pyjamas then hit the A site a couple of times in a row, Nicklas "⁠gade⁠" Gade won one of those rounds single-handedly by clutching a 1v3, but the Swedes still ended the half on the high, 9-6.

Christopher "⁠GeT_RiGhT⁠" Alesund had a slow first half, but he was the star of the pistol round, securing a hat-trick with the Dual Berettas as OpTic headed towards B. After cleaning up the anti-ecos, Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg and Dennis "⁠dennis⁠" Edman got doubles each to advance their lead to 12-6.

Similarly to the second half of Dust2, OpTic then won a round, but couldn't follow up on it and Ninjas in Pyjamas pounced. The score was soon 14-7, OpTic went for a force buy, affording an AWP to JUGi, but Ninjas in Pyjamas closed down their outside approach and finished the game 16-7.

Europe Minor - FACEIT Major 2018Best of 3 OpTicMatchpage 0 2 22nd July 2018 Ninjas in Pyjamas 8Dust2 16 7Nuke 16

OpTic	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Jakob 'JUGi' HansenJUGi	34 - 31	+3	87.0	1.11
Marco 'Snappi' PfeifferSnappi	32 - 37	-5	68.5	0.89
René 'cajunb' Borgcajunb	26 - 37	-11	61.9	0.78
Nicklas 'gade' Gadegade	22 - 34	-12	57.4	0.74
Kristian 'k0nfig' Wieneckek0nfig	21 - 40	-19	60.8	0.60

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Jonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonLekr0	52 - 25	+27	114.1	1.81
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	36 - 27	+9	78.3	1.27
Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundGeT_RiGhT	27 - 23	+4	73.7	1.23
Dennis 'dennis' Edmandennis	32 - 31	+1	68.2	1.11
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	32 - 29	+3	68.1	1.02

Final standings for Europe Minor - FACEIT Major 2018:

1. Ninjas in Pyjamas - $30,000
2. OpTic - $15,000
3. ENCE - $5,000
4. Sprout
5-6. 3DMAX
5-6. Red Reserve
7-8. LeftOut
7-8. Kinguin

3DMAX Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' Alesund Age: 28 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 1392 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.63 Nicklas 'gade' Gade Age: 23 Team: OpTic Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 380 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.66 Red Reserve #25 Simon 'twist' EliassonJoakim 'disco doplan' GidetunFredrik 'freddieb' BuöHampus 'hampus' PoserLudvig 'Brollan' Brolin Jonas 'Lekr0' Olofsson Age: 25 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 603 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.66 Jakob 'JUGi' Hansen Age: 21 Team: OpTic Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 620 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.61 Kinguin #26 Wiktor 'TaZ' WojtasJacek 'MINISE' JeziakKarol 'rallen' RodowiczPaweł 'reatz' JańczakMikołaj 'mouz' Karolewski OpTic #20 Marco 'Snappi' PfeifferRené 'cajunb' BorgJakob 'JUGi' HansenNicklas 'gade' GadeKristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke Ninjas in Pyjamas #12 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergChristopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundDennis 'dennis' EdmanJonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonFredrik 'REZ' Sterner LeftOut #24 Christophe 'SIXER' XiaFabien 'kioShiMa' FieyAdil 'ScreaM' BenrlitomAlexandre 'xms' FortéAli 'hAdji' Haïnouss Dennis 'dennis' Edman Age: 27 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 826 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.68 ENCE #17 Aleksi 'allu' JalliJani 'Aerial' JussilaSami 'xseveN' LaasanenAleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenJere 'sergej' Salo Patrik 'f0rest' Lindberg Age: 30 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 1363 KPR: 0.78 DPR: 0.65 Sprout #37 Martin 'PERCY' WesselTimo 'Spiidi' RichterDenis 'denis' HowellNiels Christian 'NaToSaphiX' SillassenDennis 'sycrone' Nielsen