Ninjas in Pyjamas won their first match in Katowice against FURIA, 16-6 on Mirage, while NRG beat Winstrike 16-9 on Nuke.

Ninjas in Pyjamas opened up the match with a play on Mirage’s B site, planting an running the time down. They tried to go to the same site on the first gun round, but FURIA were solid in their defense, getting their first round on the board. The Swedes exploded on B once again the following round on a forcebuy, resetting the Brazilian team. The Ninjas then switched it up for the second gun round, and got another round after an A execute.

Ninjas in Pyjamas then got ahold of the pace of the match, winning rounds no matter what site they hit, with FURIA completely overwhelmed. FURIA went down 1-7, but were then able to get back on the board with consecutive rounds, but Ninjas in Pyjamas were once again able to keep a hefty lead after a successful A play, making it 8-3. The Swedes then went on to win the half out, 12-3.

NIP made quick work of FURIA in their opener

The second half saw FURIA take the pistol round with an effective A play, and then won two rounds before the first buy round, making 6-12. Ninjas in Pyjamas were then able to to defend the B site in a triple-kill round by Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg to keep their lead large. Stopping an A execute from the Brazilians, Ninjas in Pyjamas made it to match point before closing it out 16-6 to take their first victory.

IEM Katowice 2019 Challengers StageBest of 1 FURIAMatchpage 6 16 13th February 2019 Ninjas in Pyjamas 6Mirage 16

FURIA	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Kaike 'KSCERATO' CeratoKSCERATO	15 - 12	+3	77.8	1.12
Vinicius 'VINI' FigueiredoVINI	14 - 17	-3	81.8	0.86
Yuri 'yuurih' Santosyuurih	12 - 16	-4	68.0	0.79
Andrei 'arT' PiovezanarT	11 - 16	-5	48.7	0.65
Rinaldo 'ableJ' Moda JuniorableJ	6 - 16	-10	37.2	0.45

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	18 - 12	+6	97.4	1.52
Jonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonLekr0	17 - 10	+7	85.3	1.40
Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundGeT_RiGhT	13 - 12	+1	62.0	1.13
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	15 - 14	+1	77.9	1.13
Dennis 'dennis' Edmandennis	14 - 10	+4	66.4	1.10

A plant on the inner site of Nuke paid dividends for NRG after Ethan "⁠Ethan⁠" Arnold and Vincent "⁠Brehze⁠" Cayonte got doubles to defend the bomb. Winstrike were then able to take the third round to keep it close, but NRG came out with a fast-paced split execute on the inner site to stay in control of the early game. The American squad then started to run away with the map as Winstrike struggled to contain NRG’s attacks.

Winstrike were able to get back on the board thanks to a good pistol buy round, as the Desert Eagles paved the way. A double by David "⁠n0rb3r7⁠" Danielyan on ramp helped his team, who played aggressive in radio, gave Winstrike another round, as the CIS side made their way back to a 6-6 tie. With 7-7 on the board, NRG planted in the inner site, but a solid retake by the CTs gave Winstrike an 8-7 lead at the half.

Winstrike didn’t have a chance against NRG’s CT side on Nuke

An opening frag by Damian "⁠daps⁠" Steele and a double by Jacob "⁠FugLy⁠" Medina opened the way for NRG to win the second pistol round despite Winstrike making it to the B site and planting the bomb. The American squad then took the reins of the match putting up a wall on the CT side. Down 8-14, Winstrike were able to win a forcebuy on the B site off of the back of a big play by Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov, but it was too little too late as NRG shut the Ts down to get on match point. Finally, it was FugLy who won a 1vs1 against Georgi "⁠WorldEdit⁠" Yaskin the following round to make it 16-9.

IEM Katowice 2019 Challengers StageBest of 1 WinstrikeMatchpage 9 16 13th February 2019 NRG 9Nuke 16

Winstrike	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Georgi 'WorldEdit' YaskinWorldEdit	17 - 17	0	75.7	1.03
Kirill 'Boombl4' MikhailovBoombl4	17 - 20	-3	72.7	0.86
David 'n0rb3r7' Danielyann0rb3r7	13 - 21	-8	72.4	0.77
Aurimas 'Kvik' KvakšysKvik	13 - 21	-8	57.6	0.74
Jan 'wayLander' RahkonenwayLander	13 - 21	-8	58.0	0.66

NRG	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ethan 'Ethan' ArnoldEthan	24 - 15	+9	114.5	1.61
Jacob 'FugLy' MedinaFugLy	19 - 13	+6	86.2	1.35
Tsvetelin 'CeRq' DimitrovCeRq	22 - 15	+7	80.8	1.31
Vincent 'Brehze' CayonteBrehze	20 - 15	+5	69.2	1.24
Damian 'daps' Steeledaps	15 - 15	0	63.6	0.91

The New Challengers stage 1W - 0L Ninjas in Pyjamas Renegades TYLOO NRG ViCi ENCE Cloud9 G2 0W - 1L Vega Squadron Grayhound Spirit fnatic Winstrike AVANGAR Vitality FURIA Kirill 'Boombl4' Mikhailov Age: 20 Team: Winstrike Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 458 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.69 Vincent 'Brehze' Cayonte Age: 20 Team: NRG Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 643 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.67 Winstrike #28 Georgi 'WorldEdit' YaskinJan 'wayLander' RahkonenAurimas 'Kvik' KvakšysKirill 'Boombl4' MikhailovDavid 'n0rb3r7' Danielyan David 'n0rb3r7' Danielyan Age: 17 Team: Winstrike Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 160 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.73 FURIA #23 Andrei 'arT' PiovezanYuri 'yuurih' SantosVinicius 'VINI' FigueiredoKaike 'KSCERATO' CeratoRinaldo 'ableJ' Moda Junior Ninjas in Pyjamas #14 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergChristopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundDennis 'dennis' EdmanJonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonFredrik 'REZ' Sterner Damian 'daps' Steele Age: 25 Team: NRG Rating 1.0: 0.88 Maps played: 778 KPR: 0.58 DPR: 0.66 Jacob 'FugLy' Medina Age: 24 Team: NRG Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 929 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.65 Georgi 'WorldEdit' Yaskin Age: 27 Team: Winstrike Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 1023 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.66 NRG #5 Damian 'daps' SteeleJacob 'FugLy' MedinaVincent 'Brehze' CayonteEthan 'Ethan' ArnoldTsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov Patrik 'f0rest' Lindberg Age: 30 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.13 Maps played: 1456 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.65 Ethan 'Ethan' Arnold Age: 18 Team: NRG Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 589 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.67