NIP top Group D, qualify for PGL Major Stockholm

The rest of the group is wide open, with only fnatic out of contention for a spot in the playoffs or the 9-12th place decider bracket.

NIP have punched their ticket to the PGL Major with a resounding victory over fnatic as Fiend took out DBL PONEY, one of the requirements other than the Swedish team’s victory to secure a spot on Counter-Strike’s biggest stage.

FaZe are now leading the rest of the pack with three wins and are close to the playoffs, but a loss to Fiend could leave them in third place behind the Bulgarians in what will be a crucial final day match for both outfits.

SKADE's prospects look grim, as they sit second to last with three points, but a victory over the last-placed fnatic could put them in the race for third were DBL PONEY and Fiend to lose their final matches as the three would enter a tie.

Despite being out of the running fnatic came out guns blazing on Nuke, taking a 7-3 lead before Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner and Linus "⁠LNZ⁠" Holtäng won a 2vs4 that turned the tides of the half, as Björn "⁠THREAT⁠" Pers’s men won the half out and took the lead before going on the defense.

The second half was a cakewalk for NIP as fnatic completely vanished from the server on the attack, unable to win a single round in what ended up being a resounding 7-16 loss.

NIP's victory is monumental for the Swedes and their Danish AWPer, as it means they will participate at the Major in Stockholm with a chance of making it in front of their home crowd. Before that, they will play the IEM Fall playoffs, which they will enter as the top seed from their group.

FaZe looked to keep their odds of making the playoffs high against SKADE, and Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen’s men came out in force on Inferno’s CT side, taking an early lead and going up by three before switching sides.

The international squad kept the pressure up on the attack, immediately hitting double digits, but Denislav "⁠dennyslaw⁠" Dimitrov and company struck right back to keep things even. It wasn’t until the very end that FaZe were able to swing things back around in their favor, winning five rounds in a row to close out the map 16-13.

The importance of winning this close match was nonpareil for FaZe, as their ability to make the playoffs now resides solely in their hands when they go up against Fiend.

DBL PONEY and Fiend quickly found each other in a brawl on Inferno, but the Frenchmen couldn’t keep up with their Bulgarian foes, unable to stabilize their economy and falling behind 5-10 at the half. Alexandre "⁠bodyy⁠" Pianaro and his men then failed to show up on the attack, as Viktor "⁠v1c7oR⁠" Dyankov and company went on a tear to close out the map in style, 16-5.

This loss was a disaster for the French team, whose Major dreams have been made harder to reach as they can no longer reach the playoffs, but if FaZe win on Sunday they retain hopes of finishing in third place. This would put them in the 9-12th bracket, and a 10th place finish there would guarantee Lucas "⁠Lucky⁠" Chastang and company a spot at the Major.

The Group D standings are: