Astralis advance to ESL Pro League S11 stage 2; Vitality, NiP through to play

Astralis have advanced to the second stage of ESL Pro League Season 11 Europe, while Vitality and Ninjas in Pyjamas have been given a second chance via the play-in stage.

The concluding round of Group A matches in ESL Pro League Europe had Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis and Vitality all on a 3-1 record, with Spirit, GODSENT and ENCE ranked fourth through sixth. Of the bottom three, only the CIS-based squad was in contention for a spot in the second group stage, hinged on a victory against GODSENT, as well as a loss for Vitality in their concluding face-off against Astralis.

Astralis booked a done-deal spot in the second stage of EPL Season 11

As the matches panned out, the series between the two group favorites would determine the squad to move directly into the next stage. Initially, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Spirit were also in contention for play-in spots, and in the case of the Swedes even direct advancement, but the Swedes' surprising loss to struggling ENCE struck off this possibility.

The series between Astralis and Vitality kicked off to a shaky start for Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire and his men, as their map pick, Dust2, was conceded off the back of a poor CT-side performance that saw the Frenchmen pick up as few as four rounds. Retaliation came on Astralis' map pick, Overpass, where the Frenchmen scraped an overtime victory. Deciding the outcome of the series was Nuke, where after securing a narrow 8-7 lead come the end of their T side, Astralis kept a water-tight defense that shut out Vitality despite Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut's best efforts.

ESL Pro League Season 11 EuropeBest of 3 AstralisMatchpage 2 1 24th March 2020 Vitality 16Dust2 10 17Overpass 19 16Nuke 8

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Nicolai 'device' Reedtzdevice	81 - 53	+28	93.8	1.43
Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussendupreeh	70 - 55	+15	86.7	1.27
Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethXyp9x	60 - 47	+13	78.9	1.23
Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossandergla1ve	50 - 60	-10	71.4	0.94
Emil 'Magisk' ReifMagisk	46 - 56	-10	57.9	0.89

Vitality	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Mathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautZywOo	65 - 58	+7	83.9	1.18
Richard 'shox' Papillonshox	59 - 60	-1	88.2	1.09
Cédric 'RpK' GuipouyRpK	58 - 62	-4	68.6	0.93
Dan 'apEX' MadesclaireapEX	45 - 62	-17	61.3	0.80
Kévin 'misutaaa' Rabiermisutaaa	44 - 66	-22	53.4	0.67

After losing their first four matches in the group stage, ENCE did not want to go down without a fight and denied Ninjas in Pyjamas the top spot in the group. With this victory, which seemed to surprise ENCE's own players, the Finnish side brought an end to a losing streak that stretched back to January 10.

The series kicked off to a heavily-contested Train, where ENCE posted a solid 8-7 T side half to start things off and followed that up with a strong defensive performance. Ninjas in Pyjamas upped the ante on Overpass, where they dominated on the offense by racking up 11 rounds before putting up a flawless CT side. Inferno was the deciding map of the series, where back-to-back pistol round victories gave ENCE the competitive edge needed to fruitfully commence both halves. A 10-5 T performance was followed up by a water-tight defence as only three rounds slipped Ninjas in Pyjamas's way.

ESL Pro League Season 11 EuropeBest of 3 Ninjas in PyjamasMatchpage 1 2 24th March 2020 ENCE 10Train 16 16Overpass 4 8Inferno 16

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Nicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez ZamoraPlopski	60 - 43	+17	96.6	1.43
Jonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonLekr0	55 - 47	+8	80.0	1.18
Tim 'nawwk' Jonassonnawwk	42 - 42	0	63.9	1.03
Simon 'twist' Eliassontwist	46 - 44	+2	69.1	1.02
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	40 - 50	-10	71.6	0.98

ENCE	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Jere 'sergej' Salosergej	50 - 49	+1	81.7	1.08
Jani 'Aerial' JussilaAerial	49 - 46	+3	69.5	1.07
Miikka 'suNny' KemppisuNny	53 - 51	+2	82.9	1.05
Aleksi 'allu' Jalliallu	40 - 48	-8	64.0	0.89
Sami 'xseveN' LaasanenxseveN	34 - 49	-15	61.0	0.84

The briefest series of the concluding round was one between GODSENT and Spirit, with Kevin "⁠kRYSTAL⁠" Amend's side picking up their second victory of the tournament to finish the group stage in fourth place.

Spirit were off to a promising start on their map pick, Inferno, as they went into the CT side chasing just a one-round deficit, but their defense was ruthlessly prised apart by GODSENT in the second half, with Pavle "⁠Maden⁠" Bošković finishing the map with a 1.56 rating. The Montenegrin talent continued his rich vein of form on Nuke, leading the charge for his team in a keenly-contested game that almost went the full distance.

ESL Pro League Season 11 EuropeBest of 3 GODSENTMatchpage 2 0 24th March 2020 Spirit 16Inferno 9 16Nuke 13

GODSENT	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Pavle 'Maden' BoškovićMaden	46 - 32	+14	89.9	1.42
Martin 'STYKO' StykSTYKO	42 - 32	+10	80.9	1.22
Mikail 'Maikelele' BillMaikelele	39 - 31	+8	80.0	1.20
Jesse 'zehN' LinjalazehN	39 - 32	+7	74.4	1.15
Kevin 'kRYSTAL' AmendkRYSTAL	28 - 29	-1	58.9	0.90

Spirit	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Artem 'iDISBALANCE' EgoroviDISBALANCE	40 - 36	+4	64.2	1.01
Viktor 'sdy' Orudzhevsdy	33 - 40	-7	72.6	0.96
Nikolay 'mir' Bityukovmir	28 - 40	-12	71.2	0.90
Leonid 'chopper' Vishnyakovchopper	28 - 39	-11	66.9	0.88
Boris 'magixx' Vorobievmagixx	27 - 39	-12	56.0	0.79

Final standings:

1. Astralis (second group stage)
2. Vitality (play-in)
3. Ninjas in Pyjamas (play-in)
4. GODSENT
5. Spirit
6. ENCE

Pavle 'Maden' Bošković Age: 21 Team: GODSENT Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 302 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.71 ENCE #21 Aleksi 'allu' JalliJani 'Aerial' JussilaMiikka 'suNny' KemppiSami 'xseveN' LaasanenJere 'sergej' Salo Kevin 'kRYSTAL' Amend Age: 26 Team: GODSENT Rating 1.0: 0.93 Maps played: 1519 KPR: 0.62 DPR: 0.67 Vitality #10 Richard 'shox' PapillonCédric 'RpK' GuipouyDan 'apEX' MadesclaireMathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautKévin 'misutaaa' Rabier GODSENT #16 Mikail 'Maikelele' BillJesse 'zehN' LinjalaMartin 'STYKO' StykKevin 'kRYSTAL' AmendPavle 'Maden' Bošković Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut Age: 19 Team: Vitality Rating 1.0: 1.29 Maps played: 584 KPR: 0.87 DPR: 0.62 Astralis #2 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderNicolai 'device' ReedtzEmil 'Magisk' Reif Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire Age: 27 Team: Vitality Rating 1.0: 1.04 Maps played: 1571 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.70 Spirit #24 Leonid 'chopper' VishnyakovNikolay 'mir' BityukovViktor 'sdy' OrudzhevArtem 'iDISBALANCE' EgorovBoris 'magixx' Vorobiev Ninjas in Pyjamas #11 Simon 'twist' EliassonJonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonFredrik 'REZ' SternerTim 'nawwk' JonassonNicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez Zamora