Ninjas in Pyjamas have punched their ticket to the New Champions Stage at IEM Katowice after defeating Vitality 2-1 (16-7 on Cache, 8-16 on Overpass, and 16-7 on Mirage).

The second game in the 2-2 pool in the New Legends Stage featured Ninjas in Pyjamas and Vitality who kicked off their best-of-three series on Cache. The CT-sided Swedes won the pistol round but Vitality hit back swiftly as Cédric "⁠RpK⁠" Guipouy clutched a 1vs3 to tie the game at 1-1.

Ninjas in Pyjamas dominated the half after that point, making it 7-2 with Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg's quad kill in the ninth round. Vitality trailed 11-4 at halftime and clung on to the map thanks to Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut's quad kill in the second pistol round. But unfortunately for the French team, they were only able to pick up two more rounds as Ninjas in Pyjamas won the map 16-7 after going on a five-round streak.

Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner got a triple kill in the pistol round on Overpass to put his T-sided team ahead. ZywOo responded with three kills in the first weapon round and Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt tied the game at 2-2 with a quad kill in the fourth round. Christopher "⁠GeT_RiGhT⁠" Alesund and Jonas "⁠Lekr0⁠" Olofsson's opening kills gave the seventh round victory to Ninjas in Pyjamas who trailed 4-3.

Vitality responded by taking the following round and reset Ninjas in Pyjamas’s economy. ZywOo showcased his skills with the AWP and led Vitality to a 11-4 advantage at halftime. The French youngster picked up three kills in the second pistol to make it 12-4 and Vitality went on to take the map victory with a 16-8 final scoreline.

Ninjas in Pyjamas had an impressive start on the CT-side on Mirage where they secured the pistol and first gun round victories to lead 3-0. GeT_RiGhT clutched a 1vs2, making it 5-0. Alex "⁠ALEX⁠" McMeekin and NBK- won a 2vs5 in the tenth round to get Vitality on the scoreboard (9-1).

Dennis "⁠dennis⁠" Edman defused the bomb in the last second in the following round as Ninjas in Pyjamas reached double digits and reset Vitality. The Swedish team ended the half 14-1 ahead thanks to their rock solid defense. The French squad won the first six rounds in the second half but Ninjas in Pyjamas finished it off 16-8 with two rounds wins on the B-site. The Swedes' 2-1 series victory secured them a place in the playoffs at the Major as they knocked out Vitality.

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Jonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonLekr0	54 - 40	+14	86.2	1.26
Dennis 'dennis' Edmandennis	51 - 45	+6	83.3	1.19
Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundGeT_RiGhT	51 - 46	+5	70.9	1.09
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	49 - 41	+8	71.8	1.08
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	42 - 44	-2	74.1	1.01

Vitality	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Mathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautZywOo	53 - 51	+2	79.6	1.13
Dan 'apEX' MadesclaireapEX	52 - 51	+1	75.7	1.07
Nathan 'NBK-' SchmittNBK-	43 - 50	-7	77.7	0.93
Alex 'ALEX' McMeekinALEX	38 - 49	-11	63.2	0.85
Cédric 'RpK' GuipouyRpK	30 - 47	-17	54.4	0.80