NiP, OpTic triumphant at Europe Minor
Ninjas In Pyjamas secured their qualifying spot in the FACEIT Major alongside OpTic Gaming.
NiP faced OpTic Gaming during the Europe Minor Championship on July 22. While OpTic Gaming has a strong showing, NiP proved to hold the competitive edge and shut out Optic during the finals.
Throughout the entire tournament, NiP were looked at as a strong contender for qualification. Beating both Sprout and ENCE during their road to the finals put NiP in position to succeed. The team was confident in their strategy, especially when defending as CTs.
During the semifinals, NiP and OpTic faced off for the first time. OpTic’s Jakob “JUGI” Hansen and
Nicklas ‘gade’ Gade’s used strong aggression to force NIP into the lower bracket with a 2-1 series victory.
When it came time for the two teams to face each other once more in the finals, NiP was ready. The first game was held on Dust2 and saw NiP carry an 8-7 lead into the second half before taking over entirely. Jonas “Lekr0” Olofsson finished the game with 28 kills. Lekr0’s uncontested dominance helped NiP to a 16-8 victory.
Game two was held on Nuke. The second game followed a similar narrative, with both Fredrick “REZ” Sterner and Dennis “dennis” Edman stepping up for the Ninjas. Their combined efforts along allowed NiP to take Nuke with little resistance, 16-7.
The Swedish team’s pair of map wins allotted them the grand prize of $30,000.
Though Optic was unable to defeat NIP a second time at the European Minor, the team will have a chance at revenge when both squads return to London for the FACEIT Major in September.
Read Also
Counter-Strike
IEM Cologne Major Stage 3 preview: who’s making it to the playoffs?
Owen Harsono
The IEM Cologne Major is the biggest tournament of the year, and after two stages of play, it’s finally time to unleash the big boys. Stage 3 will feature the 16 best teams in the world, but only eight can advance to the Playoffs and play on the big stage. Here’s our IEM Cologne Major Stage 3 preview. Before we got to Stage 3, a lot of things happened in ...
Counter-Strike
IEM Cologne Major 2026 CS2 Stage 3 Pick’Em Predictions
Owen Harsono
It’s that time of the year again, as the next Counter-Strike 2 Major is right around the corner. The IEM Cologne 2026 Major is set to start on June 2, meaning you still have some time to lock in your Pick’Em predictions. The Pick’Em Challenge is one of the most exciting parts of the CS2 Majors, as it allows you to test your knowledge and predict which teams make it ...
Counter-Strike
Team Spirit concede just 10 rounds in Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major
Owen Harsono
It was pretty weird seeing Team Spirit having to start the IEM Cologne Major from Stage 2, but they quickly proved why that was a mistake. With donk shooting on all fronts, the Eastern Europeans speed ran the competition to book their spot in Stage 3. With how they’ve been playing, it’s hard not to wonder whether they can actually win the entire thing. These boys can sometimes be known ...
Counter-Strike
BIG pull off 0-12 comeback to stay alive – IEM Cologne Major Stage 1 recap
Owen Harsono
We’ve just witnessed arguably the worst choke in Counter-Strike Major history, and we’re only on the first stage of the IEM Cologne Major. If you didn’t tune into the Stage 1 matches, here’s what you need to know heading into Stage 2. Many fans tend to underestimate Stage 1 teams for fair reasons, but some survivors in this tournament look extremely promising. Two Eastern European teams, BetBoom Team and B8, ...
Counter-Strike
Who will win the IEM Cologne Major 2026?
Owen Harsono
If you’re looking to play it safe and back one team at the Counter-Strike 2 IEM Cologne 2026 Major, traders prediction markets platforms have a clear frontrunner – it’s Team Vitality. But if it’s not meant to be, there are a few other candidates that could lift the trophy. Here’s what traders on Polymarket and Kalshi think. If you haven’t been watching CS2 this year and are only jumping on ...
Counter-Strike
The 10 best CS2 players who have never won a Major
Owen Harsono
In Counter-Strike, winning a Major immediately puts you into legend status. It’s an achievement that proves you won the game’s biggest trophy. However, there have been some really good players that could never get their hands on the biggest trophy that Counter-Strike esports has to offer. Here is WIN.gg's list of best CS2 players who have never won a Major. ScreaM is one of Counter-Strike's most famous players for one ...
Counter-Strike
IEM Cologne Major 2026: All the teams, favorites, and outright betting odds
Owen Harsono
Mark your calendars, as the IEM Cologne Major kicks off on June 2, 2026. We’re going to see the best teams in the world compete, but which ones are actually favored to take the title? This will be the first time in 10 years that IEM Cologne will return as a Counter-Strike Major, so the stakes this year are much higher than they’ve been in a decade. In this guide, ...
