NiP through to playoffs over Cloud9

The series kicked off on Cobblestone, which was NiP's map pick, even though the final score would have suggested otherwise. Cloud9 got off to a flying start on the map and stormed into a 7-0 lead as NiP struggled to break through the Americans' defence.

The Swedish team called a timeout in an effort to halt Cloud9's momentum, but that did not help, with the scoreline blooming to a 13-0 advantage for the home side. NiP then finally managed to get a round on the board with a B execute, thanks to three fast kills from Richard "⁠Xizt⁠" Landström, but Cloud9 hit back right after to close out the half with a commanding 14-1 lead.

NiP then found a lifeline as they secured the pistol round courtesy of a trio of Dual Elites kills from Christopher "⁠GeT_RiGhT⁠" Alesund, but their comeback dreams would soon be crushed by Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip, who picked up three kills with the Desert Eagle. With no money to work with, NiP would soon fall as Cloud9 locked down the map, 16-2, to take the lead in the series.

NiP through to the playoffs after a hard-fought match 

Map two, Train, began with a strong T start from NiP, who got out to a 4-0 lead. Jordan "⁠n0thing⁠" Gilbert then gave Cloud9 their first round of the game with a trio of kills near the e-box, with Timothy "⁠autimatic⁠" Ta following it up with three frags of his own in the following round.

Cloud9 put together a small rounds of rounds and even took the lead, but then NiP came back into the game and won five rounds in a row to end the half with a 9-6 lead.

Now playing on the CT side, NiP were far too hot for their opponents, winning seven rounds straight to win the map, 16-6, and take the series to Cache.

Cloud9 came into the final map with fire in their bellies as they won the first six rounds to put NiP in danger of getting blown out. Xizt then picked up a trio of kills in middle to power NiP to win their first round of the map, with GeT_RiGhT following suit with three kills during a flank attempt in the next round. That was the start of a great run from the Ninjas, who would string eight rounds together before Cloud9 took the final round of the half.

Skadoodle put in big numbers, but it was not enough for C9 to win 

NiP picked up where they left off and won the first three rounds on the Terrorist side. After a break due to technical issues, the Swedes further increased their lead by taking the next three rounds. Cloud9 then finally put their foot down to hold back the Swedish team, winning six of the next seven rounds, but two fast headshots by Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg in a 2v2 situation killed off the Americans' dream of taking the game to overtime.

Key Moment: Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg's 1on1 win against Jordan "⁠n0thing⁠" Gilbert on Cache in the eighth round. NiP had just won their first round of the map and would have to face a hard reset if the North American had pulled off the 1v3 clutch

PotM: Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg was simply on fire on Train and Cache, winning several aim duels to rescue his team after a tough defeat on Cobblestone.