Ninjas in Pyjamas and Imperial Esports will meet in the Long Cognego quarterfinals of the group stage of IEM Rio 2023. I have fears for the Europeans, as playing against the Brazilians is suicidal.
However, I'm also confused by the form of Imperial Esports, who didn't make it to the majors by showing questionable play. And at the RMR tournament, the team managed to Ledge beat Evil Geniuses and Complexity Gaming, which is forgettable in general.
So here, despite all the pressure, I would lean on Ninjas in Pyjamas to win. All the same, Aleksib and company know how to handle such opponents, the more so because the arena is still a long way away.
Ninjas in Pyjamas fixtures
The 22nd ranked team of the world fell at the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2023 Europe and failed to qualify for IEM Dallas 2023 at the same time.
However, the European squad did well at the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR B, where they defeated Eternal Fire, but were followed by Ledgeil Vitality and FORZE.
And yet further Ninjas in Pyjamas managed to cope with Astralis and BIG, against which showed a good game. And in the rest of the team began to gain form, playing up their game.
The latest results Ninjas in Pyjamas:
- Victory over Eternal Fire with a score of 16-11.
- Defeat at the hands of Vitality, 13-16.
- A 12-16 defeat at the hands of FORZE.
- 2-0 win over Astralis.
- 2-0 win over BIG.
Best Ninjas in Pyjamas:
- Nuke - 80% wins.
- Mirage - 71% wins.
- Vertigo - 69% wins.
It should be remembered that the European squad usually gives up maps Anubis.
Imperial Esports uniforms
The 28th ranked team in the world failed completely in the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 17 where they were left without a victory and took the last place.
However, right after that, the Brazilian team won the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2023 Americas, where they defeated Complexity Gaming, EG Black and paiN Gaming.
However, for the next BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Americas RMR, Imperial Esports again began to have problems as the team got only one victory over TeamOne but also lost to Evil Geniuses and Complexity Gaming.
Imperial Esports latest results:
- A 2-0 win over EG Black.
- A 2-0 win over paiN Gaming.
- A 12-16 loss to Evil Geniuses.
- Beat TeamOne 2-0.
- 0-2 defeat of Complexity Gaming.
Imperial Esports top scorers:
- Nuke - 70% wins.
- Mirage - 67% wins.
- Overpass - 62% wins.
- Vertigo - 60% wins.
- Ancient - 60% wins.
- Inferno - 56% wins.
Interestingly, the Brazilian team has also given up Anubis.
Ninjas in Pyjamas - Imperial Esports match statistics
The teams have not met before.
Ninjas in Pyjamas - Imperial Esports
First of all, the Brazilians came to the championship at the last moment. Second, Imperial Esports has a very poor game, as evidenced by the recent RMR-tournament.
Also, don't forget that the group stage will be held in a studio format where there won't be any crowds. Given all these factors, it will be incredibly difficult for the Brazilians.
Therefore, in this case, I would recommend betting on Ninjas in Pyjamas to win.
