Liquid take down NiP; to face Astralis in grand final

With a 2-0 scoreline (16-10 Overpass, 16-14 Mirage), Liquid ended Ninjas in Pyjamas's tournament run at BLAST Pro Series Global Final and set up another match against Astralis in the grand final of the tournament.

After taking down FaZe, Liquid defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas in Riffa, Bahrain, earning a spot in the grand final after a loss to Astralis in the opening match. The game against Ninjas in Pyjamas saw the North American side struggle at times, but they stepped were able to step up in the final stretches to close out both Mirage and Overpass. With this result, Liquid are on to the grand final, where they were meet Astralis in a BO3 for the ninth and final time this year.

Following a lost T side pistol, four rounds in a row went Ninjas in Pyjamas's way on the offensive side of Overpass, the Swedes' map pick. Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski's strong play allowed Liquid to stabilize on the defense, reaching a 7-4 scoreline. Despite some back-and-forth before the end of the half, Liquid managed to retain their lead before the switch, 9-6.

Ninjas in Pyjamas grabbed a clean pistol round win on B, but despite losing rounds Liquid was able to keep their opponents' money low. Then, when the score was equalized at 10-10, Liquid won a round that broke the Swedish side's bank, and ran away with the map after that, concluding it 16-10.

Another stellar performance from EliGE helped Liquid take the win in two maps

Liquid didn't build a lot of momentum off of the T side pistol victory on Mirage as Jonas "⁠Lekr0⁠" Olofsson and Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner stepped up with saved weapons, setting Ninjas in Pyjamas on course for a 5-2 lead on the defense. Then, Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic closed out two tight rounds to get Liquid back into the swing of thing, while EliGE's 1v3 flank saw the half ended with an 8-7 score in favor of Ninjas in Pyjamas.

Just like in the first half, after the switch Liquid secured the pistol round only to lose to a low buy. Lekr0's team used that to go on a six-round winning streak, controlling the pace from the T side. The Swedes were on the brink of victory on Mirage, 14-11 up, when NAF activated and picked up multikills in five consecutive rounds, helping Liquid take back the lead and claim the victory, 16-11 and 2-0 for the series.

BLAST Pro Series Global Final 2019Best of 3 Ninjas in PyjamasMatchpage 0 2 14th December 2019 Liquid 10Overpass 16 14Mirage 16

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	42 - 39	+3	87.1	1.17
Jonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonLekr0	35 - 40	-5	71.8	0.98
Simon 'twist' Eliassontwist	32 - 36	-4	62.2	0.88
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	34 - 42	-8	69.3	0.86
Nicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez ZamoraPlopski	30 - 40	-10	56.9	0.83

Liquid	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Jonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiEliGE	51 - 40	+11	94.5	1.37
Keith 'NAF' MarkovicNAF	41 - 34	+7	91.9	1.22
Jake 'Stewie2K' YipStewie2K	42 - 36	+6	82.5	1.20
Nick 'nitr0' Cannellanitr0	35 - 28	+7	58.7	1.09
Russel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenTwistzz	28 - 35	-7	62.9	0.95

Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski Age: 22 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 1209 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.68 FaZe #7 Olof 'olofmeister' KajbjerNikola 'NiKo' KovačHåvard 'rain' NygaardMarcelo 'coldzera' DavidHelvijs 'broky' Saukants Liquid #4 Nick 'nitr0' CannellaKeith 'NAF' MarkovicJonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiJake 'Stewie2K' YipRussel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken Keith 'NAF' Markovic Age: 22 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 1170 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.64 Astralis #1 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderNicolai 'device' ReedtzEmil 'Magisk' Reif Jonas 'Lekr0' Olofsson Age: 26 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 879 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.67 Fredrik 'REZ' Sterner Age: 21 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 903 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.66 Ninjas in Pyjamas #10 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergSimon 'twist' EliassonJonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonFredrik 'REZ' SternerNicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez Zamora