On Day 2 of ESL One Cologne, Ninjas in Pyjamas faced Epsilon on Cobblestone. This was a rematch of their game from Gfinity 3, where NiP lost by just 2 rounds. NiP hoped to show why they are synonymous with competitive Counter Strike.
[insert image of NiP v Epsilon w/ rosters]
Early French Dominance
The game began with Epsilon on the Terrorist side. They quickly took the bomb down to A and KioSHiMa took 2 opening frags. NiP was unable to stop them from planting the bomb and lost the round. Epsilon continued to dominate the following rounds due to NiP’s lack of armor. NiP only won one round during this period.
The Equaliser
In the 9th round, NiP picked up some early frags and took down 4 members of Epsilon. They went on to win the next 2 rounds and closed the gap in the score.
The Second Side
Epsilon started the pistol round strongly, taking down GeT_RiGhT and the rest of NiP with grenades. Epsilon won the next two rounds easily as well. On the 19th round, Epsilon continued their dominance and NiP struggled to make an impact.
NiP attempted a force buy and took the bomb to A, but they were quickly taken out by Epsilon’s AWP and auto sniper fire. Epsilon continued to dominate and brought the score to 15-6.
At match point, NiP attempted another force buy, but kioSHiMa stopped them with his auto sniper. Epsilon won the game with a final headshot from Shox.