The first day of ESL Pro League Season 11 featured three quick 2-0 matches in Group A. In the most shocking result, Astralis were run over by Ninjas in Pyjamas.
NiP raise questions over Astralis form at ESL Pro League
In the most high-profile game of the opening day of ESL Pro League Season 11, Ninjas in Pyjamas destroyed the No. 1 team in the world Astralis. Fredrik “REZ” Sterner and Nicolas “Plopski” Gonzalez Zamora combined for 89 kills across Vertigo and Overpass to drag their squad to an impressive 16-6; 16-8 result. On the other side of the server Emil “Magisk” Reif was the only one to crack 30 kills.
It’s silly how easy it is to question Astralis as soon as they have a somewhat rough patch. The Danes are falling victims to their own high standards and after a couple of unsuccessful events (BLAST Premier Spring Series and IEM Katowice) this loss to NiP comes as a further suggestion that Astralis are far from where we’re used to seeing them.
ENCE are also continuing their shaky performances ever since they removed in-game leader Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen in September 2019. The Finns were nowhere to be seen on Inferno vs. Team Spirit – a map the CIS side won 16-2. Aleksi “allu” Jalli’s server-leading 29 kills on Train were not enough to repair the damage already done as ENCE fell in the final round and lost a match they might have needed to win in order to advance out of the groups.
The third Group A fixture marked the debut of Kévin “misutaaa” Rabier for Team Vitality. It’s fair to say the youngster did not disappoint. Only veteran Cédric “RpK” Guipouy outfragged him in Vitality’s 2-0 victory over GODSENT.
The ESL Pro League Season 11 program continues today with the first round of games in Group B. The fixtures for March 17 are as follows:
- Complexity Gaming – forZe
- Natus Vincere – North
- Fnatic – BIG Clan
Group A is getting back to action tomorrow, March 18.
