It wasn’t pretty, but Ninjas in Pyjamas have bounced back with a vengeance at the BLAST Paris Major on May 9, taking an overtime win against OG—and in the process, broke a record that spans the history of CS:GO itself.
The match against OG was NiP’s 139th at a Major, overtaking NAVI for the most played matches at a CS:GO Major dating back to the esport’s inception, as confirmed by HLTV after the day two win.
Down 4-11 in their 1-1 Challenger Stage match against their European counterparts, Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen put on a masterclass of a T side on Mirage to drag NiP back into the match. In a map full of individual highlights across the board, it was Aleksib’s calling that ultimately guided the Ninjas to the victory 19-17, silencing his vocal critics in the process.
Related: BLAST Paris CS:GO Major: Scores, standings, and results
NiP coach Daniel “djL” Narancic was ecstatic following the victory but didn’t mince words when asked about the team’s four-round CT side. “This was probably one of the worst CT sides we’ve ever played and it will be something we review, but I think we had a very good plan today for T side. We tried to switch up some stuff because we’ve played them a few times on this map.”
NiP is one of the most storied organizations in Counter-Strike history, with the Swedish org present at CS:GO’s first Major, DreamHack Winter, in 2013. Featuring the likes of legends Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg and Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, NiP would ultimately fall in the grand final to Fnatic, sparking one of the greatest rivalries in Counter-Strike history.
NiP would go on to face Fnatic in two more Major finals, finally breaking their rivals at ESL One Cologne in 2014 in what would be their only Major trophy to date.
Both Fnatic and NiP, alongside Ukrainian org NAVI, have stood the test of time. All three will appear this week in Paris, the last Global Offensive Major. While Fnatic and NAVI’s preparations for the Legends Stage continue, the Ninjas still have plenty of work to do in the Challengers Stage—they’ll appear next on May 10 in an attempt to further their run in the French capital.
