FaZe, G2 hold NiP, North to draws; Astralis overrun SK

The first round of matches at the BLAST Pro Series has come to an end, with Astralis easing past SK Gaming, while NiP and North were held to draws by FaZe and G2, respectively.

The first big match of the day, pitting a Ninjas in Pyjamas side riding the wave after winning IEM Oakland against the current No.1 team in the world, FaZe, began with an A execution from the Swedes in the pistol round, with Richard "⁠Xizt⁠" Landström getting three kills to his name before William "⁠draken⁠" Sundin won the decisive 1v1.

NiP remained in the driving seat even when the game reached the gun rounds, with the scoreline eventually blooming to a 6-1 advantage for the Swedes. It was only then that FaZe managed to get a footing in the game, winning back-to-back rounds to build up their bank, but a 1v2 clutch from draken put the Ninjas in control of the economy once again. Down 8-3, FaZe won a round on an extremely shoddy buy, with that round sparking a great run from the European mixture, who brought the deficit to 8-7.

olofmeister was key to FaZe's comeback

The second half began with Ninjas in Pyjamas completely destroying their opponents as they won the pistol round without losing a single man. With a successful third-round buy, FaZe got back in the game, but then they were caught off-guard by the Swedes' eco stack on ivy.

That was the start of another great run from Ninjas in Pyjamas, who won four rounds straight to bring the scoreline to 14-8. Many believed that the Ninjas would soon wrap things up, but then FaZe's offense came to life. With Olof "⁠olofmeister⁠" Kajbjer at the centre of the action, the European mixture won seven of the following eight rounds to tie up the game at 15-15 and secure one precious point from a match that at one point looked all but lost.

BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen 2017Best of 1 FaZeMatchpage 15 15 25th November 2017 Ninjas in Pyjamas 15Train 15

FaZe	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Olof 'olofmeister' Kajbjerolofmeister	28 - 21	+7	94.7	1.33
Ladislav 'GuardiaN' KovácsGuardiaN	24 - 18	+6	77.9	1.24
Håvard 'rain' Nygaardrain	17 - 19	-2	73.4	1.02
Nikola 'NiKo' KovačNiKo	21 - 21	0	73.6	0.96
Finn 'karrigan' Andersenkarrigan	10 - 21	-11	37.2	0.68

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
William 'draken' Sundindraken	28 - 20	+8	89.5	1.40
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	19 - 23	-4	75.6	1.03
Richard 'Xizt' LandströmXizt	21 - 19	+2	64.2	0.97
Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundGeT_RiGhT	19 - 19	0	72.1	0.93
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	13 - 20	-7	65.9	0.90

Meanwhile, G2 and North also played out an exciting 15-15 draw, this time on Mirage. The Danish team were in control for most of the first half and picked up a 9-6 halftime lead after stringing three rounds together on three different occasions, shutting down any chances of G2 building up an economy.

North could not close out the match against G2

The French side won the pistol round and the subsequent anti-ecos to restore parity at 9-9, but then North's defense flourished, with the Danes winning six rounds in a row to reach match point. G2 then upped the pace and went on a fantastic run of their own, stringing six rounds together to equalise the score.

BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen 2017Best of 1 NorthMatchpage 15 15 25th November 2017 G2 15Mirage 15

North	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Philip 'aizy' Aistrupaizy	22 - 19	+3	86.5	1.16
Mathias 'MSL' LauridsenMSL	19 - 18	+1	75.7	1.13
Valdemar 'valde' Bjørn Vangsåvalde	21 - 22	-1	80.1	1.05
René 'cajunb' Borgcajunb	17 - 18	-1	43.4	0.89
Kristian 'k0nfig' Wieneckek0nfig	19 - 22	-3	66.6	0.85

G2	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Kenny 'kennyS' SchrubkennyS	24 - 17	+7	77.3	1.19
Dan 'apEX' MadesclaireapEX	22 - 19	+3	86.6	1.17
Richard 'shox' Papillonshox	26 - 24	+2	88.2	1.16
Alexandre 'bodyy' Pianarobodyy	15 - 17	-2	48.9	0.82
Nathan 'NBK-' SchmittNBK-	12 - 21	-9	67.1	0.79

The final match of the first round was a complete blowout, but not in the way that many had predicted. With Dennis "⁠dennis⁠" Edman as a stand-in, Astralis were far too hot for SK to handle, picking up a comprehensive 16-3 victory as the Brazilians simply could not string any rounds together throughout the match.

BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen 2017Best of 1 AstralisMatchpage 16 3 25th November 2017 SK 16Inferno 3

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Markus 'Kjaerbye' KjærbyeKjaerbye	21 - 7	+14	111.7	1.78
Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethXyp9x	20 - 5	+15	96.3	1.73
Dennis 'dennis' Edmandennis	21 - 10	+11	120.4	1.69
Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossandergla1ve	13 - 7	+6	75.2	1.38
Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussendupreeh	10 - 14	-4	59.9	0.88

SK	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Marcelo 'coldzera' Davidcoldzera	15 - 16	-1	92.7	1.06
Fernando 'fer' Alvarengafer	9 - 16	-7	60.4	0.66
Epitacio 'TACO' de MeloTACO	10 - 17	-7	67.7	0.66
Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFalleN	5 - 19	-14	36.7	0.38
Ricardo 'boltz' Prassboltz	4 - 17	-13	36.8	0.31

Astralis #3 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderNicolai 'device' ReedtzMarkus 'Kjaerbye' Kjærbye North #7 René 'cajunb' BorgMathias 'MSL' LauridsenPhilip 'aizy' AistrupValdemar 'valde' Bjørn VangsåKristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke Richard 'Xizt' Landström Age: 26 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 1264 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.65 Olof 'olofmeister' Kajbjer Age: 25 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 987 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.65 William 'draken' Sundin Age: 22 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 547 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.64 G2 #5 Richard 'shox' PapillonKenny 'kennyS' SchrubNathan 'NBK-' SchmittDan 'apEX' MadesclaireAlexandre 'bodyy' Pianaro SK #2 Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFernando 'fer' AlvarengaRicardo 'boltz' PrassMarcelo 'coldzera' DavidEpitacio 'TACO' de Melo Ninjas in Pyjamas #4 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergChristopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundRichard 'Xizt' LandströmWilliam 'draken' SundinFredrik 'REZ' Sterner Dennis 'dennis' Edman Age: 26 Team: No team Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 708 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.68 FaZe #1 Finn 'karrigan' AndersenOlof 'olofmeister' KajbjerLadislav 'GuardiaN' KovácsNikola 'NiKo' KovačHåvard 'rain' Nygaard