Ninjas in Pyjamas recovered from a rough start on Overpass to defeat Red Reserve 16-14, picking up their first win at the Europe Minor.

Red Reserve held off Ninjas in Pyjamas's B approach in the pistol, securing the first two rounds on Overpass as a result. With their first full buy, Ninjas in Pyjamas did a perfect execute on B, grabbing three unanswered kills to get on the board, but Simon "⁠twist⁠" Eliasson's ace in the followup would see Red Reserve establish control early in the game

Red Reserve was dominant after that, cruising to an 8-1 lead as Ninjas in Pyjamas struggled to deal with the aggression. Finally, in a force-buy round, Dennis "⁠dennis⁠" Edman picked up four frags, clutching a 1v2 at the end, to bring Ninjas in Pyjamas back to life. The score was 8-4 when Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg opened up the round with the AWP and dennis followed it up with a quick double, setting Ninjas in Pyjamas on course to a salvaged, 8-7 half.

dennis' first-half clutch was crucial in NiP's comeback

Christopher "⁠GeT_RiGhT⁠" Alesund and co. continued their six-round streak in the second half, winning the CT-side pistol and taking the lead shortly (11-8). f0rest's double in underpass hindered Red Reserve's offense quickly and saw Ninjas in Pyjamas extend their lead, with Red Reserve looking uninspired on the T side up till that point (14-8).

Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin then managed a double-entry to end Ninjas in Pyjamas's 13-round streak and Red Reserve brought the game back to a 14-12, which soon turned into a 15-14, but Ninjas in Pyjamas managed to seal the deal before overtime, moving to the group B winner's match.

Europe Minor - FACEIT Major 2018Best of 1 Ninjas in PyjamasMatchpage 16 14 20th July 2018 Red Reserve 16Overpass 14

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Dennis 'dennis' Edmandennis	25 - 20	+5	85.3	1.19
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	21 - 16	+5	77.4	1.13
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	19 - 20	-1	71.0	1.00
Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundGeT_RiGhT	18 - 20	-2	67.8	0.94
Jonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonLekr0	10 - 20	-10	47.2	0.65

Red Reserve	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Hampus 'hampus' Poserhampus	23 - 19	+4	82.3	1.19
Simon 'twist' Eliassontwist	20 - 16	+4	76.4	1.17
Joakim 'disco doplan' Gidetundisco doplan	19 - 19	0	71.5	0.95
Fredrik 'freddieb' Buöfreddieb	18 - 20	-2	68.8	0.92
Ludvig 'Brollan' BrolinBrollan	16 - 19	-3	58.8	0.84

Ludvig 'Brollan' Brolin Age: 16 Team: Red Reserve Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 302 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.67 Simon 'twist' Eliasson Age: 23 Team: Red Reserve Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 988 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.68 Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' Alesund Age: 28 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 1382 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.63 Ninjas in Pyjamas #12 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergChristopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundDennis 'dennis' EdmanJonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonFredrik 'REZ' Sterner Dennis 'dennis' Edman Age: 27 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 816 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.68 Patrik 'f0rest' Lindberg Age: 30 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 1353 KPR: 0.78 DPR: 0.65 Red Reserve #25 Simon 'twist' EliassonJoakim 'disco doplan' GidetunFredrik 'freddieb' BuöHampus 'hampus' PoserLudvig 'Brollan' Brolin