Vitality cruise to EPL playoffs with victory over Ninjas in Pyjamas

The Swedish side were knocked down to Group A's lower bracket, where they'll face FURIA.

Spinx farmed Ninjas in Pyjamas on Mirage on his way to a 2.32 raitng

Vitality became the second team to secure a spot in the playoffs of ESL Pro League Season 18 after taking down Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0. It was a one-sided affair in favor of Danny "⁠zonic⁠" Sørensen's men as the Ninjas looked completely unrecognizable from the squad that swept through Astralis on Wednesday.

The world's No.1 team is now poised to secure a spot directly in the quarter-finals as they are scheduled to fight Movistar Riders on Sunday at 16:00 . The Spanish squad has been the surprise package from Group A, but it's difficult to imagine how they can hold out against Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut and company.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
03/09/2023	Movistar Riders16:00 Vitality	Match

The series began on Ninjas in Pyjamas' map pick of Mirage, and it wasn't a pleasant experience for Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser's men. Despite finding several entry frags and bomb plants, the European mix wasn't able to find much success in their offensive half as they trailed 2-13 before the break.

Ninjas in Pyjamas claimed the pistol round after switching sides as a consolation prize before Vitality closed the map 16-3, courtesy of Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi's nuclear performance worthy of a 2.32 rating.

Ninjas in Pyjamas showed signs of life on Nuke as they organized a competitive CT side, powered by hampus and Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin, but they were only able to claim an 8-7 lead before halftime.

Unfortunately for the Swedish core, Vitality kickstarted their CT side on fire, and only conceded one round on their way to a 16-9 victory. It was a team effort for Vitality as every player from the European mix registered a rating above 1.13, and Ninjas in Pyjamas could not handle all five players in form.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
01/09/2023	Ninjas in Pyjamas19:30 FURIA	Match

The Ninjas will continue their EPL run from Group A's lower bracket, where they'll face FURIA hoping to avoid the drop to the Last Chance bracket.

ESL Pro League Season 18Best of 3 VitalityMatchpage 2 0 31st August 2023 Ninjas in Pyjamas 16Mirage 3 16Nuke 9

Vitality	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Lotan 'Spinx' GiladiSpinx	50 - 27	+23	110.2	1.62
Mathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautZywOo	35 - 21	+14	82.9	1.34
Shahar 'flameZ' ShushanflameZ	33 - 21	+12	78.8	1.33
Emil 'Magisk' ReifMagisk	29 - 24	+5	70.8	1.13
Dan 'apEX' MadesclaireapEX	27 - 26	+1	73.7	1.12

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ludvig 'Brollan' BrolinBrollan	29 - 36	-7	86.0	0.97
Hampus 'hampus' Poserhampus	24 - 35	-11	71.0	0.84
Daniil 'headtr1ck' Valitovheadtr1ck	22 - 31	-9	62.5	0.83
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	21 - 35	-14	52.0	0.71
Kristian 'k0nfig' Wieneckek0nfig	23 - 37	-14	63.6	0.70

Ludvig 'Brollan' Brolin Age: 21 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 1183 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.67 Time is adjusted to your selected timezone Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut Age: 22 Team: Vitality Rating 1.0: 1.27 Maps played: 1202 KPR: 0.84 DPR: 0.61 Danny 'zonic' Sørensen Age: 37 Team: VitalityC Hampus 'hampus' Poser Age: 24 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 1452 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.69 Ninjas in Pyjamas #11 Kristian 'k0nfig' WieneckeFredrik 'REZ' SternerHampus 'hampus' PoserLudvig 'Brollan' BrolinDaniil 'headtr1ck' Valitov Daniel 'djL' Narancic Movistar Riders #71 Alejandro 'alex' MasanetTiago 'JUST' MouraAlejandro 'mopoz' Fernández-Quejo CanoAdam 'adamS' MarianAntonio 'MartinezSa' Martinez Galder 'bladE' Barcena FURIA #23 Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoMarcelo 'chelo' CespedesAndrei 'arT' PiovezanYuri 'yuurih' SantosKaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato Nicholas 'guerri' Nogueira Lotan 'Spinx' Giladi Age: 22 Team: Vitality Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 619 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.64 Vitality #1 Dan 'apEX' MadesclaireEmil 'Magisk' ReifMathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautShahar 'flameZ' ShushanLotan 'Spinx' Giladi Danny 'zonic' Sørensen Astralis #6 Nicolai 'device' ReedtzJohannes 'b0RUP' BorupBenjamin 'blameF' BremerVictor 'Staehr' StaehrChristian 'Buzz' Andersen Peter 'casle' Ardenskjold