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While the Russian contender had managed a slight 14-16 upset of sorts against CLG on Day 1, they’d lost as expected against Immortals and G2. NiP had what should’ve been an easy matchup against Vega Squadron. Eyebrows raised a bit when NiP lost on Day 3 to Optic 9-16, but hope remained that the old Swedish CSGO giant would pull through on the final day of the qualifier. NiP’s 17-19 overtime loss to Hellraisers on Day 2 didn’t seem like cause for concern. They handled Renegades with relative ease as pretty much everyone expected, winning 16-9. On Day 1 it seemed like NiP was certain to be one of the eight teams walking away with 3 victories. Ninjas in Pajamas, aka NiP, failed to secure a spot at the Eleague Major coming up in January 2017. It’d be inappropriate not to start with the biggest headline of the tournament. The results of the qualifier left commentators and fans alike scratching their heads in disbelief. Recent upsets and changes in the competitive scene left the qualifier stacked with household names like Envyus, NiP, Mousesports, Dignitas, G2, Cloud 9 and many others battling across four days for a chance to kick off 2017 right. The ELeague Major Qualifier was just held to determine the final 8 teams that would secure a spot at 2017’s first CSGO Major.
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It’s been a changing of the guard, a year of redefinitions as the French and Swedish titans of competitive CSGO fell from their once untouchable perch atop of nearly every CSGO Major tournament.Įven though the Majors were done back in July, 2016 wasn’t done surprising everyone. What a crazy year for CSGO! We’ve seen the rise of the Americas with the Brazilians of Luminosity Gaming, now better known as SK Gaming, winning back-to-back Majors and Team Liquid securing 2 nd at ESL One Cologne 2016 – the highest Major placement ever for an NA team.