Ninjas in Pyjamas proved that Brazil shouldn’t be overlooked in VALORANT by defeating Fnatic 2-0 in the 2022 VCT Masters Reykjavik second Group B opening match.
Ascent was Fnatic’s map pick, but NiP had little trouble with the European team. NiP successfully retook B site during the intense pistol round, setting the precedent for the first half. Fnatic killed three players in round two, impacting NiP’s economy despite not winning the round. Fnatic fully committed to buying in round three but couldn’t take a site and capitalize on their investment.
NiP successfully stopped Fnatic in round four, forcing the European team to take the first timeout of the series. The short pause didn’t help Fnatic as they were still unable to take a site in round five, as NiP’s bnj successfully held A site by killing four enemies in round six.
Fnatic used Killjoy’s lockdown to fake a push into A site in round seven, which almost went wrong, but Fnatic’ H1ber finally got his team on the board with an impressive ace. This round win was enough to get the ball rolling for Fnatic as they won the next three rounds. NiP’s Jonn stopped the momentum in round 10, killing four enemies and almost singlehandedly holding B site. NiP won the final two rounds of the first half to secure a 9-3 scoreline.
NiP aggressively pushed into B site in the second pistol round, but Fnatic held the site with minimal casualties. They also won their bonus round, but NiP overwhelmed them in round 15. Fnatic prevented the Brazilian team from snowballing to victory, winning the next two rounds and further closing the gap.
Round 18 was a crucial round as NiP would be forced to save if they lost, but bnj won a one-vs-three to secure the round and maintain his team’s lead. NiP refused to let Ascent slip away from them, and they won the last three rounds to secure the first map of the series.
Split started in Fnatic’s favor as they won the pistol round, but NiP still controlled and dominated the first half. Fnatic won sporadically in the first half but could only secure four rounds on defense. NiP continued to show how mechanically gifted they are, like when xand secured a kill despite just landing after using Raze’s ultimate ability. Fnatic did narrowly defuse the spike in round 12, where Fearoth choked a Sage resurrection but still killed an enemy, but this was one of the European team’s few highlights of the first half.
NiP won the second pistol round and bonus round, and Fnatic needed to win round 15 to prevent ruining their economy and potentially allowing NiP to run away with the victory. Fnatic managed to win rounds 15, 16, and 17, but NiP stopped the momentum in round 18. Fnatic immediately answered back by winning round 19 before NiP successfully won a Thrify round in round 20 to take the series to match point. NiP’s Jonn finished the series off with three impressive kills, securing his team’s advancement to the Group A Winner’s match.
Ninjas in Pyjamas will move on to face DRX in the Group A Winner’s match tomorrow at 10am CT. Fnatic will have another chance to survive the group stage by defeating Zeta Division in the Group A elimination match tomorrow at 4pm CT.
