Rounding out day one in Dubai, NIP locked in a berth in the tournament’s semi-finals. The Swedes, still playing with Erik “ztr” Gustafsson instead of an illness-stricken Hampus “hampus” Poser, fended off a surprisingly competitive NASR squad after three maps.
The new-look OG, who recently brought in Maciej “F1KU” Miklas and Adam “NEOFRAG” Zouhar and are playing their first tournament with the new lineup, await NIP In the next round of the single-elimination bracket.
ztr topped the charts in his second stint filling in for hampus
Everything seemed to be going well for the heavy favorites at first on Mirage. After a brief back-and-forth, NIP took control of the first half on the back of an eco win featuring an Patrick “es3tag” Hansen triple, and from there NASR didn’t have an answer to the Swedish defense.
But when sides switched, it was Adel “Remind” Guermassi‘s team’s turn to dominate on the CT side. Undoubtedly the most experienced player of the roster as a former forZe member, Almaz “almazer” Asadullin, was firing on all cylinders in particular, leading the way to an impressive comeback from NASR from a 5-10 first half along with Mohammad “BOROS” Malhas.
NIP woke up after the shocking loss on the opener, though, responding with a dominant Overpass victory that saw stand-in ztr top the charts. A similarly one-sided affair on the deciding Nuke followed, with the Swedes finishing off the series in comfortable fashion after all.
