Ninjas in Pyjamas beat Heroic – IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Upper Bracket

Ninjas in Pyjamas survived a tight three-map contest against Heroic to secure a 2-1 win in their opening match of IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1. After dropping the first map on their own pick, NiP bounced back on Overpass and closed out Ancient with a solid showing. Ukrainian AWPer r1nkle was the standout performer with a 1.31 rating across the series. NiP move on to face 3DMAX in the upper bracket, while Heroic fall to the lower bracket and will next face MIBR.

Map 1 – Nuke (13:10 Heroic)

NiP’s map pick didn’t go to plan, as Heroic put up a strong defensive side to take a 7:5 lead at the half. Despite a few close rounds, including a 1v2 clutch from nilo, Heroic maintained control late in the map. The key moment came in round 23, where gr1ks and nilo converted a 2v4 to seal the win. nilo led the charge with 20 kills, while r1nkle showed early signs of impact with consistent AWP frags.

Map 2 – Overpass (13:9 NiP)

NiP responded on Heroic’s pick with a well-structured CT side, going up 8:4 at halftime. xKacpersky and sjuush anchored key bombsite holds, and r1nkle delivered multi-kills in pivotal mid and A-site fights. Despite tN1R finding entries in the second half, NiP managed to hold off Heroic’s late push to even the series.

Map 3 – Ancient (13:9 NiP)

The deciding map followed a similar script to Overpass. NiP once again led 8:4 at the break and kept momentum going into the second half. A standout 4K from yxngstxr on a retake gave Heroic hope early, but NiP stayed composed. ewjerkz and r1nkle closed it out with key frags in the final rounds to lock in the win.

With this result, Ninjas in Pyjamas will face 3DMAX in the upper quarterfinals, while Heroic drop to the lower bracket to play MIBR. The opening round also saw wins for FaZe, Liquid, Virtus.pro, Astralis, GamerLegion, and FURIA.

IEM Cologne 2025 is held in Cologne, Germany, featuring 16 teams in Stage 1 from July 23–25, followed by Stage 2 and Playoffs from July 26–August 3. The total prize pool is $28,000, with top teams advancing to the next stage and $4,500 awarded to 9–12th place finishers.