Astralis vs Ninjas in Pyjamas Prediction: Astralis in Search for Consistency

• Astralis will face off against Ninjas In Pyjamas in the opening round of season 18 of the ESL Pro League. 
• Both teams are part of group A, and the winning team will advance through to the next round and move closer to the playoffs, while the losing team will be demoted to the first round of the mid-bracket. 
• Sportsbooks have rated Astralis as the favorites in this contest, with NIP coming in as nearly 3 to 1 underdogs. 

Astralis vs Ninjas In Pyjamas Pick

• Our Pick: Astralis to win. 

Astralis vs Ninjas in Pyjamas Prediction

With over $850,000 in prize money up for grabs, 32 of the best CS:GO teams have fought through the European, South American, and Oceanic qualifiers, respectively, for a chance to face off against the tournament’s permanent partner teams. Among the partner teams are Astralis and Ninjas in Pyjamas, who have both been at the forefront of professional CS:GO for as long as memory serves. Astralis has existed since 2016, while Ninjas In Pyjamas is a Swedish team that was founded all the way back in the year 2000.  

Astralis players will likely have a chip on their shoulders after their last outing in ESL Pro League Season 17, where they could only finish 17th-20th among the 32 participating teams. Over the last two years, Astralis has been a constant presence in the mid-table of the ESL Pro League over the past two years. Their recent performance indicates a slight dip in form that would be better to correct sooner rather than later, as it would be hard to climb back through the ranks if their form continues to decline. 

On the other hand, Ninjas In Pyjamas have also been a mid-tier team like Astralis. However, Ninjas In Pyjamas had a breakthrough performance in Season 15 of the ESL Pro League when they pulled off a 2:0 upset against Astralis and finished 3rd-4th in the season. Since then, like Astralis, they slid back down the rankings to finish in 17th-20th in the next season, a ranking they would replicate in the last season of the ESL Pro League as well. 

The two teams have met thrice in 2023 so far, and it has gone both ways. In the Blast Premier Spring Groups 2023, Astralis would emerge victorious with a tally of 2-1. In the Paris Major 2023, Ninjas In Pyjamas successfully beat Astralis with a 2:0 sweep, and Astralis would avenge this loss when the two teams met again in IEM Cologne 2023. As far as predictions go, the upcoming match could go either way: we’re yet to see the form with which the two teams open the tournament. 

However, Ninjas In Pyjamas came fresh off a win in the Group stage of the BLAST Premier FALL season, while Astralis only managed a 4th-6th place in the same tournament. However, their fortunes would be reversed in the Intel Extreme Masters tournament, where Astralis finished 3rd-4th, while Ninjas In Pyjamas fell well behind and only managed to finish 13th-16th place. This sharp skid in form leads us to believe that Astralis are better positioned to gain the upper hand in the early stages of Season 18 of the ESL Pro League. 

Astralis Continues the Search for Consistency

In the last three months, Astralis has played 46 maps with 25 wins and 21 losses. During this period, they scored 4190 kills and 4042 deaths over 1281 rounds, for a K/D ratio of 1.04. The Astralis squad currently consists of blameF, dev1ce, Buzz, Staehr, and b0RUP, with blameF serving as captain. However, he has been thoroughly outperformed by dev1ce, who has a K/D differential of +249 compared to his +187.  

Astralis have had way more success than the CT side, with dev1ce leading the effort with a K/D differential of +194, followed by blameF, whose K/D differential stands at +155. As for the T side, the differentials are less dramatic, with dev1ce coming in at +55 and blameF coming in at +32. dev1ce had an astonishing 62.1% success rate with his opening kills, adding up to 0.13 opening kills per round. If Astralis continues to keep it together and play cerebrally, then they are sure to beat Ninjas In Pyjamas in their upcoming match.  

Ninjas in Pyjamas Playing Catchup

Over the last 90 days, Ninjas In Pyjamas have played 34 matches - winning 17 and losing 17. Over the course of these games, they played 970 rounds and scored 3082 kills and 3204 deaths, which adds up to a K/D ratio of 0.96. 

The NIP squad currently consists of k0nfig, REZ, hampus, Brollan, headtr1ck, es3tag and Aleksib, with hampus serving as the current captain. The star player on the Ninjas In Pyjamas squad is currently headtr1ck, who has a K-D differential of +110 and a K/D rating of 1.29. The remainder of the squad has K/D differentials all in the negatives, with Brollan having the lowest at -75.  

Like Astralis, Ninjas In Pyjamas have fared better as the CT side, with headtr1ck significantly outperforming his teammates with a K/D differential of +128, in stark contrast to his teammates, who are all in the single digits. Ninjas In Pyjamas has not performed as well as the T side, with the entire squad having K/D differentials in the negatives. 

Still, headtr1ck is ahead of his teammates significantly, with a k/d differential of -18. headtr1ck matches up to dev1ce in terms of opening kills, with an identical 0.13 per round. 

How to Watch Astralis vs Ninjas in Pyjamas

• Teams: Astralis vs Ninjas in Pyjamas
• Location: USA
• Time: Wednesday, August 30, 2023
• How to Watch: Twitch