The Ninjas faced off against Swedish rivals and powerhouse Fnatic in the second season of the ESL ESEA Pro League earlier this evening. After a far from optimal start,  the team managed to bring the game back around, with some of the extraordinary play we've grown accustomed to seeing from NiP over the past couple of weeks.

1st Half (NiP: CT Fnatic: T Map: de_Cache)

After winning the knife round on Cache, NiP opt to start as CT. We get into the action quickly as Fnatic advance to the B-site. NiP are not able to repel the fast push, losing the pistol round. 
Despite buying up and friberg managing to get the first frag of round two, NiP still lose the round. Fnatic also pick up round three, NiP being on a full eco.

Round 4, the first real buy round for both teams, sees Fnatic hitting the A-site, after Dennis (from G2, standing in for krimz) finds the entry, quickly followed by two kills from pronax on the site. NiP, not able to reply, is back on another eco, the score now 0-4. Losing the eco round, NiP look to be in good shape as allu bests JW in their AWP-duel mid. Fnatic eventually manage to bring it back to a 2-on-2, olofmeister and flusha against allu and xizt. 
The teams trade evenly before flusha wins the round for his team by taking down allu, closing out the round with four kills.

Fnatic snag another two rounds, making the score 0-7, before NiP reply; Opting to go for a quasi-buy, allu picks up the first two kills of the round. Fnatic are not able to repair the damage as the Ninjas pick up their first round of the match, making it 1-7.

Inspired by the stellar performance of their Finnish AWPer in the previous round, NiP pick up a total of 3(!) AWPs in the following. This proves to be just what the doctor ordered, as they find 4 quick kills with the sniper rifles, handily closing out the round. 

NiP win another three rounds, bringing the score back to 5-7 before Fnatic pick up their eighth. The Ninjas are quick to respond, winning the following round off of another triple AWP-buy! This leaves Fnatic in a bad spot, economically, allowing NiP to close out the half 7-8.

2nd Half

The teams split the map's pistol rounds, as NiP successfully push their rivals out of mid and the A-site simultaneously. They get a quick plant followed by a stellar defense, led by GeT_RiGhT, who finishes the round with 3 kills. The score being tied at 8-8, Fnatic go for a force buy, rushing to B. The exchanges on the site are won by Fnatic and xizt finds himself in a 1v4, turned into a 1v3 before he goes down. 

NiP force right back and picks up the first two kills of the round before Fnatic manage to stabilize, finding the next three frags. They manage to close out the round, keeping three members alive. NiP, now on a full eco, find one kill before losing the round to superior weapons and armor, allowing Fnatic to build some bank.

Down 8-11, the 20th round of the match turns out to be huge for the Ninjas. f0rest picks up the entry and the team is able to trade efficiently from thereon. allu finishes the round with three kills and, as an added bonus, picks up JW's AWP. Despite losing the entry in the 21st round, NiP find the number advantage, after GeT_RiGhT gets the better of both flusha and pronax on A. Dennis eventually finds himself in a 3v1 but is found and picked off by xizt before the round is over.

The score now 10-11, Fnatic is forced to eco. NiP seize their chance to gain some momentum, winning the round without taking a single casualty. 

NiP win the next round aswell, resulting in their first lead of the night. Fnatic, now on a force buy, can't make their investment count as f0rest finishes the round with 4 kills.
The score now being 13-11, the Ninjas are off to an excellent start, picking up the first two kills. NiP still can't manage to close out the round however, as JW clutches it for his team, getting three vital kills in quick succession towards A. 

In the next round, the teams trade back and forth, down to a 2-on-2: GeT_RiGhT and f0rest versus flusha and pronax. The dynamic duo finds flusha before unfortunately lining up for pronax, who wins the round for his team, bringing the score back to 13-13.

In the 27th round, GeT_RiGhT and f0rest get the first two kills. From here, the team can trade efficiently, securing their 14th round. Fnatic are forced to save in the upcoming one and NiP find themselves on match point!
The match is decided in its final round, as Fnatic can't muster much of a buy. They do initially manage to trade with the Ninjas, before friberg and xizt pick up one a piece. Being the sole survivor against three ninjas, JW tries to put up a fight, but to no avail.

Good Game and Well Played!

Final score: 16-13 NiP (CT:7/T:9) 

-NiP got the first kill of the round in 18 out of 30 rounds. Out of those 18, the team managed to win 13. allu and GeT_RiGhT had the most entries at 5 a piece.
-xizt and f0rest found 26 kills each, closely followed by GeT_RiGhT at 24
-The Ninjas remain undefeated in the second season of the ESL ESEA Pro League
-NiP will be back in action against both Fnatic and TSM next week, 22nd September at 9 PM CEST (Stream start).