Ninjas in Pyjamas quickly rose to the top of the Group A standings while Fnatic rallied from a map down for a victory Thursday at ESL Pro League Season 15.
NiP swept Entropiq 2-0 and became the only team in the group to start with two wins. Fnatic took down LookingForOrg 2-1 and MOUZ swept G2 Esports.
The 24-team event is divided into four groups. All teams will play each other one time in the group stage. The winners from each group will advance to the quarterfinals while second- and third-place teams advance to the Round of 12.
The winner of the $823,000 event earns $175,000 and entry to the BLAST World Final 2022. They’ll also garner 1,300 Pro Tour points.
NiP beat Entropiq 16-5 on Nuke and 16-11 on Overpass. Swedes Nicolas “Plopski” Gonzalez Zamora and Hampus “hampus” Poser recorded 42 kills apiece for NiP, with Plopski notching a game-high plus-15 kills-to-deaths differential and hampus adding a plus-11.
L4Org eked out a 16-13 triumph on Dust II to take a lead against Fnatic, but the British club responded with a 16-8 win on Inferno and clinched the match 16-7 on Overpass. William “mezii” Merriman of Great Britain had 58 kills and a plus-13 K-D for Fnatic, while Valentin “poizon” Vasilev of Bulgaria added 57 kills and a plus-13 of his own.
MOUZ defeated G2 in two close maps, 16-12 on Nuke and 19-17 in overtime on Mirage. Hungarian Adam “torzsi” Torzsas of MOUZ led all players with 52 kills and a plus-15.
Group A action continues Friday with three matches:
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. MOUZ
LookingForOrg vs. Entropiq
G2 Esports vs. Fnatic
Group A standings, score differential:
1. Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0, +37
2. G2 Esports 1-1, +9
3. MOUZ 1-1, -3
T4. Entropiq 1-1, -7
T4. Fnatic 1-1, -7
6. LookingForOrg 0-2, -29
–Field Level Media
