BLAST Pro Series Istanbul group stage concluded

In the last round of matches, Ninjas in Pyjamas secured a third place finish and will pick who they want to face in the BLAST Pro Series Stand-off, while Astralis defeated MIBR to reach the grand final with a perfect record.

The game between Cloud9 and Ninjas in Pyjamas took place on Mirage, with the Swedish team having a third-place finish and a spot in the BLAST Pro Series Stand-off in their hands if they secure the win. The match was contested by both teams early on, but Ninjas in Pyjamas was looking like the better side overall, with Jonas "⁠Lekr0⁠" Olofsson's 1v1 clutch against Robin "⁠flusha⁠" Rönnquist giving the Ninjas a 9-6 lead for the half.

NiP finish third in the group stage

Doubles from Christopher "⁠GeT_RiGhT⁠" Alesund and Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg gave Ninjas in Pyjamas the pistol, and with that, enough momentum to take care of business on the CT. Dennis "⁠dennis⁠" Edman was a standout player throughout, with his multikills being key to Ninjas in Pyjamas closing out the game 16-8.

BLAST Pro Series Istanbul 2018Best of 1 Cloud9Matchpage 8 16 29th September 2018 Ninjas in Pyjamas 8Mirage 16

Cloud9	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Timothy 'autimatic' Taautimatic	20 - 21	-1	83.2	1.21
Maikil 'Golden' SelimGolden	21 - 20	+1	99.4	1.15
Tyler 'Skadoodle' LathamSkadoodle	14 - 20	-6	72.3	0.86
Robin 'flusha' Rönnquistflusha	13 - 21	-8	62.8	0.62
William 'RUSH' WierzbaRUSH	8 - 22	-14	48.2	0.38

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Dennis 'dennis' Edmandennis	29 - 14	+15	131.2	1.99
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	25 - 15	+10	115.3	1.62
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	23 - 15	+8	77.0	1.39
Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundGeT_RiGhT	19 - 19	0	82.1	1.07
Jonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonLekr0	8 - 14	-6	47.5	0.82

Space Soldiers kicked off their match against Virtus.pro on the right foot, grabbing the T pistol on Dust2 and running up a 6-0 lead shortly. Then, with the AWP in his hands, Michał "⁠snatchie⁠" Rudzki got three kills and brought the Poles back into the game. They managed six before the switch, but losing the second pistol as well put them in a tough situation as they were trying to catch up.

After Space Soldiers reached a 13-6 lead, Virtus.pro kicked into a higher gear and strung together four rounds in an attempt to comeback, but it wasn't enough and the Turkish side managed to grab a consolation win, beating the Poles 16-10.

BLAST Pro Series Istanbul 2018Best of 1 Space SoldiersMatchpage 16 10 29th September 2018 Virtus.pro 16Dust2 10

Space Soldiers	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' DörtkardeşXANTARES	29 - 18	+11	127.4	1.78
Ahmet 'paz' Karahocapaz	23 - 12	+11	80.9	1.48
Engin 'MAJ3R' KüpeliMAJ3R	16 - 16	0	67.7	1.05
Engin 'ngiN' KorngiN	15 - 17	-2	72.6	1.00
Buğra 'Calyx' ArkınCalyx	14 - 17	-3	45.8	0.89

Virtus.pro	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Filip 'NEO' KubskiNEO	21 - 17	+4	90.3	1.21
Michał 'snatchie' Rudzkisnatchie	20 - 18	+2	88.8	1.18
Michał 'MICHU' MüllerMICHU	15 - 21	-6	70.3	0.86
Jarosław 'pashaBiceps' JarząbkowskipashaBiceps	11 - 20	-9	48.2	0.68
Piotr 'morelz' Taterkamorelz	13 - 21	-8	59.9	0.62

Astralis and MIBR kicked off their grand final preview on Dust2, where Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip tapped down three with the USP-S to secure the CT pistol. The Brazilian-American side went on to secure the following anti-ecos, before adding to more to their lead to make it 5-0.

The Danes took a more aggressive approach in the sixth round, which earned them their first, forcing Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo to save the Big Green. The change of pace from Astralis began to pay off as the Danes racked up five straight to take the 6-5 lead, but a massive quad-kill from Tarik "⁠tarik⁠" Celik leveled the game once more.

The two sides went back and forth at the tail-end of the first half, with Astralis eventually edging the 8-7 lead at halftime. The Danes continued their run into the second half as FalleN co. struggled to get past Astralis' CT side, who locked down the half winning eight in a row to secure the 16-7 map victory.

BLAST Pro Series Istanbul 2018Best of 1 AstralisMatchpage 16 7 29th September 2018 MIBR 16Dust2 7

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussendupreeh	25 - 12	+13	105.9	1.80
Nicolai 'device' Reedtzdevice	24 - 11	+13	98.1	1.70
Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethXyp9x	17 - 10	+7	80.0	1.35
Emil 'Magisk' ReifMagisk	15 - 13	+2	78.3	1.21
Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossandergla1ve	14 - 13	+1	71.5	1.15

MIBR	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Marcelo 'coldzera' Davidcoldzera	14 - 19	-5	81.6	0.97
Tarik 'tarik' Celiktarik	18 - 17	+1	67.7	0.88
Jake 'Stewie2K' YipStewie2K	13 - 19	-6	69.4	0.75
Fernando 'fer' Alvarengafer	6 - 20	-14	56.5	0.43
Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFalleN	7 - 20	-13	27.5	0.35

Final group stage standings:

1. Astralis - Grand Final
2. MIBR - Grand Final
3. Ninjas in Pyjamas - $25,000
4. Space Soldiers - $15,000
5. Virtus.pro - $10,000
6. Cloud9 - $5,000

The winner of the BLAST Pro Series Stand-off, which will feature third-place finishers Ninjas in Pyjamas and the team of their choosing, will earn another $20,000.

Cloud9 #21 Robin 'flusha' RönnquistTyler 'Skadoodle' LathamWilliam 'RUSH' WierzbaTimothy 'autimatic' TaMaikil 'Golden' Selim Virtus.pro #28 Filip 'NEO' KubskiJarosław 'pashaBiceps' JarząbkowskiMichał 'MICHU' MüllerPiotr 'morelz' TaterkaMichał 'snatchie' Rudzki Michał 'snatchie' Rudzki Age: 20 Team: Virtus.pro Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 538 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.69 Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo Age: 27 Team: MIBR Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 908 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.60 Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' Alesund Age: 28 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.13 Maps played: 1415 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.63 Astralis #1 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderNicolai 'device' ReedtzEmil 'Magisk' Reif Tarik 'tarik' Celik Age: 22 Team: MIBR Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 929 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.68 Space Soldiers #39 Engin 'MAJ3R' KüpeliIsmailcan 'XANTARES' DörtkardeşBuğra 'Calyx' ArkınAhmet 'paz' KarahocaEngin 'ngiN' Kor Jonas 'Lekr0' Olofsson Age: 25 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 626 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.66 Robin 'flusha' Rönnquist Age: 25 Team: Cloud9 Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 1367 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.65 MIBR #4 Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoTarik 'tarik' CelikFernando 'fer' AlvarengaJake 'Stewie2K' YipMarcelo 'coldzera' David Ninjas in Pyjamas #9 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergChristopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundDennis 'dennis' EdmanJonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonFredrik 'REZ' Sterner Dennis 'dennis' Edman Age: 27 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.04 Maps played: 849 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.68 Jake 'Stewie2K' Yip Age: 20 Team: MIBR Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 827 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.69 Patrik 'f0rest' Lindberg Age: 30 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.13 Maps played: 1386 KPR: 0.78 DPR: 0.65