NIP-Gaming win Nordic ESWC qualifier

UPDATE: NIP-Gaming came out on top after two maps and have therefore secured flight tickets and accommodation for the ESWC finals. ESPlanet.net will be on-site providing you with top notch coverage.

The grand final of the Nordic ESWC qualifier is finally here and will see the Swedish giants of NIP-Gaming lock horns with an impaired HastaLaVista side.The ESWC finals will take place in Paris in little under a month and the majority of the participants for the CS:GO tournament are still to be found. Some will receive direct invitations while others have to battle it out through different region based qualifiers.

Having featured teams from Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden, competition in the Nordic ESWC qualifier has been stiff right from the kick-off. Tonight, the qualifier will come to a close as the grand final is being played between Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson's team waving the banner of the fabled Ninjas in Pyjamas side and the Danish side of HastaLaVista, a team which have turned several heads and proved critics wrong with their phenomenal play throughout the tournament. Both teams are as such already qualified for the ESWC finals. However, tonight's winner will get both flight tickets and accommodation paid for so both teams are expected to give it all they got in tonight's best-of-three showdown.

HastaLaVista's way to the final:

HastaLaVista's ESWC qualifier campaign began with a face off versus the slightly unknown Finnish side of Afterlife Gaming, whom they met on the predetermined maps, de_dust2_se and de_nuke_ve. The first map was much closer than any had expected it to be, with HastaLaVista losing the first half 7-8. Neither the second half proved to be a walk in the park for the Danes who though managed to close it at 9-6 thus winning it 16-14. The second map, de_nuke_ve, was much of an easy affair for the Danes who had secured an 11-4 lead before switching sides. The Finns were denied any more rounds thus seeing the Danes take home a 16-4 win and an overall 2-0 win in the opening round.

In round two of the ESWC Nordic qualifier, Casper "ruggah" Due's HastaLaVista line-up was going up against another Finnish team. This time around they were to set to play against Team WinFakt, a team starring famous names such as Joona "nuta" Leppänen and Samuel "God" Räsänen. De_inferno_se was first up with the Danes taking a comfortable 10-5 lead at halftime. Team WinFakt only secured three more rounds as HastaLaVista wrapped it up at 16-8. Second map of the match, de_nuke_ve, was much more even with both halfs finishing 8-7 for HastaLaVista who thus secured further advancement while Team WinFakt were eliminated. HastaLaVista only needed one more win before a spot at the ESWC finals was secured.

The Norwegian team Gosu were the Danes' semi-final opponents. The Norwegians had just come home from a victory at the Norwegian event ByLAN so the team was definitely looking to keep the momentum going. On the first map, the ByLAN champions looked incredibly strong, taking a quick 14-5 lead before HastaLaVista eventually managed to get back into the game. One of the most amazing comebacks of the qualifier resulted in the Danes winning the map 16-14. On the second map, de_mirage_csgo, HastaLaVista grabbed an 11-4 lead at halftime, before the Norwegians were sent packing as HastaLaVista won the second half 5-0.

NIP-Gaming's way to the final:

En route to the grand final, NIP-Gaming haven't faced much competition as they have been looking amazingly strong in every single game they have played. NIP-Gaming's ESWC Nordic qualifier campaign kicked off with a 2-0 win over the Finnish side of AfterShock Crushed. The Swedes simply drove them over with a 16-0 score on de_dust2_se then followed by a 16-8 win on de_nuke_ve

NIP-Gaming didn't look like a team which was going to let anything come between them and the ESWC spot and they proved that yet again in the second match in which they faced their fellow compatriots from hiGhrollers. Just like in the first match, NIP-Gaming took an easy victory as they won de_inferno_se 16-2 after having been up 13-2 at halftime.  On de_nuke_ve, the Swedes simply continued were they had left off, netting themselves a 13-2 lead at halftime before calling it a day with a final score of 16-6.

NIP-Gaming were only in need of one more win before they could head directly into the grand final. Having to face teamX, some of the NIP-Gaming players were to face a few former team mates as teamX had the likes of Pita "pita" Faruk on the line-up, with whom NIP-Gaming's Richard "xizt" Landström played together with back in Fnatic. Despite the warm ties of friendship, both teams were looking to advance into the grand final. On de_dust2_se, teamX had the best possible start as they went up 10-5. However, all good things come to an end and the same could be said about teamX's performance which drastically took a turn for the worse. NIP-Gaming went absolutely huge in the second half of de_dust2_se, winning it 11-2 thus winning the map.

On the second map, de_mirage_csgo, teamX didn't stand a change as NIP-Gaming were simply too hot to handle for Pita "pita" Faruk's team. The first half finished in favor of NIP-Gaming 14-1. In the second half, NIP-Gaming finished the job and the game with a terrifying 16-2 win on the second map and a final score line saying 2-0.

The grand final will be played in a best-of-three format with the winning team securing both flight tickets as well as accommodation for the ESWC finals while the runner-ups will only get a spot at the finals. HastaLaVista come into the match without Nichlas "Nille" Busk, who isn't available for tonight's match due to study-related activities. The action will break loose on de_train_se, which is tonight's first map and will be followed by de_inferno_se. If the game should be taken into a third map, fans will see the two teams battle it out on de_dust2_se. The match is set to start at 20:00 CEST and ESPlanetTV will be streaming the match-up with caster duo of Niels "rizc" Topp and Simen "Warclown" Henriksen guiding you.

ESWC Nordic qualifier grand final
Team	Score	Team
NIP-Gaming	[ 2 - 0 ]	HastaLaVista

Find the complete ESWC Nordic qualifier bracket right here

ESPlanetTV stream: