On the fifth and final day of the $300,000 StarSeries i-League Season 2 LAN finals, one of the most legendary rosters in Counter-Strike returned to the podium after a period of poor form.
The grand final saw Ninjas in Pyjamas completely decimate their opponents G2 Esports on opening map Cache, completely shutting the French side out despite the squad’s impressive performance throughout the event, ending the map 16-7. The scoreboard was dominated by the Swedes, as Adam “friberg” Friberg and Richard “Xizt” Landström put up strong performances as the two players had 38 kills between them.
G2 came back in the initial stages of Overpass, but NiP regained control and grabbed a lead heading into the second half. The second map was plagued by lag and server instability, causing controversy when G2 claimed they had lost a round because of it. After a prolonged break, the admin ruled that the lag didn’t affect the outcome of the round and the map would continue.
G2 began regaining lost ground and eventually tied up the rounds at 10-10 and built a small round lead. The Ninjas were on hot the french trail however, and rebounded after being down by two rounds.
NiP looked primed to take the second map after surpassing G2’s round score, but G2 fought back and miraculously succeeded in forcing the game into overtime surviving three championship points. Both teams kept on trading blows, and the map didn’t end up being decided until the fourth round of double overtime. Giving NiP the series and its first title in more than half a year.
Earlier in the day Ninjas in Pyjamas had ended the American hopes of Cloud9, with G2 besting Team Dignitas to reach the final.
