Outsiders eliminated Ninjas in Pajamas from IEM Katowice 2023

The Outsiders team defeated Ninjas in Pajamas with a score of 2:1, thanks to which they reached the semi-finals of the lower bracket of group B at IEM Katowice 2023. Now dastan's men will face OG, which lost to Heroic a little earlier. In turn, the Swedish team suffered a second defeat in the group stage, which is why they left the championship.

The opening match of the third gaming day started on the Vertigo map, which turned out to be the choice of the Swedish team. At the same time, Ninjas in Pajamas players instantly seized the initiative on the server, sweeping away the opponent's defense over and over again. In turn, the Outsiders continued to disappoint in defense, winning only one round - 14:1. After the change of sides, dastan's wards were able to straighten their position a little, but they were still not enough for a comeback. As a result, Ninjas in Pajamas confidently closed the second half and took the lead in the series — 16:5.

Next, the teams moved to the Overpass map, which became the choice of the Outsiders. Here the situation was in favor of the Russian team, which went into control of the situation and kept the opponent's economy in mind. Nevertheless, the Swedes managed to rectify the situation in order to find a psychological minimum - 9:6. After the change of sides, the teams got as close to each other as possible. However, the round won by the Outsiders with one device allowed the team to break away and take the series to the third map — 16:12.

Everything was decided on the Inferno map, where the Swedish team started right off the bat and, as it seemed, seriously broke the opponent. However, closer to the change of sides, the Outsiders managed to return to the game and reduce the gap to one round - 8:7. However, in the second half the Swedes disappeared from the radar somewhere, while the Outsiders confidently played in the attack and scored the final victory - 16:9.

IEM Katowice 2023 takes place from 1 to 12 February in Katowice at the Spodek Arena. As part of the championship, 24 teams from the CIS, Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and Oceania are fighting for a total prize pool of $1,000,000, as well as a ticket to IEM Cologne 2023 for the winner.

Interim results of IEM Katowice 2023

• 1st place: $400,000 + ticket to IEM Cologne 2023
• 2nd place: $180,000
• 3rd-4th place: $80,000
• 5th-6th place: $40,000
• 7th-8th place: $24,000
• 9th-12th place: $16,000
• 13th-16th place: BIG, Ninjas in Pajamas and Cloud9 — $10,000
• 17th-20th place: MIBR, ENCE, Sprout and FURIA - $4,500
• 21st-24th place: paiN Gaming, Evil Geniuses, Permitta Esports and Grayhound Gaming — $2,500