The two powerhouse teams lived up to their reputation on LAN.
Ninjas in Pyjamas were the first team to move past the IEM Cologne Play-In and secure a spot in the main event after taking down MOUZ 2-0. The Swedes outclassed Christopher "dexter" Nong and co. on Mirage before moving on to their map pick and taking Ancient 16-11.
"We are really confident on Ancient, we love that map," Linus "LNZ" Holtäng said in the post-match interview, although the victory wasn't a straightforward one.
Robin "ropz" Kool looked hot on the defense, posting 22-7 K-D in the first half as MOUZ took a 9-6 lead, but Ninjas in Pyjamas snatched the momentum with a CT force buy and never looked back. Earlier in the day, Ninjas in Pyjamas defeated LDLC 16-6, also on Ancient.
The tightest series of the round was the one between Spirit and Vitality, going all three maps. In a Dust2 thriller, Nikolay "mir" Bityukov was the difference-maker, dropping a 30 bomb to ensure Spirit's 16-14 win, but Vitality retaliated on Mirage, 16-13, despite an outstanding performance from the CIS team's other star, Abdul "degster" Gasanov (1.63 rating).
The series was resolved on Nuke, which proved to be another exciting, back-and-forth map. Vitality pulled ahead only in the final rounds, chaining five together to steal it away 16-12.
The North American underdogs Bad News Bears didn't make a strong impression in Cologne. Peter "ptr" Gurney's squad was the first team eliminated from the tournament following losses to MOUZ and LDLC, being unable to get to double digits in any of the three maps they played.
"Ugly showing from the boys. We need to talk through a few things and come back stronger for [ESL Pro League S14 in] Malta," the 31-year-old sniper said on Twitter, commenting on Bad News Bears' result.
After their defeats, Spirit and MOUZ have dropped to the lower bracket where they will face the winners of TeamOne - Sprout and Evil Geniuses - ViCi, respectively, while LDLC will have to overcome the loser of FaZe - Complexity to get to the main stage.
IEM Cologne 2021 Play-inBest of 3
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Matchpage 2 0 6th July 2021 
MOUZ 16Mirage 8 16Ancient 11 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nicolai 'device' Reedtzdevice | 44 - 29 | +15 | 88.1 | 1.35 |
| Hampus 'hampus' Poserhampus | 42 - 33 | +9 | 95.5 | 1.28 |
| Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ | 39 - 33 | +6 | 88.2 | 1.24 |
| Nicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez ZamoraPlopski | 39 - 31 | +8 | 76.4 | 1.20 |
| Linus 'LNZ' HoltängLNZ | 24 - 25 | -1 | 47.0 | 0.92 |
| MOUZ | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Robin 'ropz' Koolropz | 42 - 33 | +9 | 82.4 | 1.16 |
 Aurimas 'Bymas' PipirasBymas | 29 - 36 | -7 | 59.8 | 0.89 |
| Frederik 'acoR' GyldstrandacoR | 31 - 40 | -9 | 62.1 | 0.80 |
 Christopher 'dexter' Nongdexter | 27 - 41 | -14 | 71.4 | 0.76 |
 David 'frozen' Čerňanskýfrozen | 22 - 38 | -16 | 60.5 | 0.71 |
Spirit
Matchpage 1 2 6th July 2021 
Vitality 16Dust2 14 13Mirage 16 12Nuke 16 | Spirit | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdul 'degster' Gasanovdegster | 73 - 46 | +27 | 74.1 | 1.24 |
| Nikolay 'mir' Bityukovmir | 61 - 62 | -1 | 82.6 | 1.13 |
 Viktor 'sdy' Orudzhevsdy | 49 - 50 | -1 | 68.6 | 1.04 |
| Boris 'magixx' Vorobievmagixx | 57 - 57 | 0 | 70.5 | 0.99 |
| Leonid 'chopper' Vishnyakovchopper | 36 - 61 | -25 | 57.3 | 0.73 |
| Vitality | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautZywOo | 68 - 52 | +16 | 90.1 | 1.30 |
| Kévin 'misutaaa' Rabiermisutaaa | 59 - 52 | +7 | 74.0 | 1.08 |
| Dan 'apEX' MadesclaireapEX | 59 - 59 | 0 | 76.8 | 1.00 |
| Richard 'shox' Papillonshox | 52 - 59 | -7 | 68.1 | 0.91 |
| Jayson 'Kyojin' Nguyen VanKyojin | 38 - 55 | -17 | 50.0 | 0.82 |
LDLCMatchpage 2 0 6th July 2021 
Bad News Bears 16Inferno 9 16Mirage 6 | LDLC | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ali 'hAdji' HaïnousshAdji | 48 - 28 | +20 | 97.6 | 1.52 |
| Bryan 'Maka' CandaMaka | 40 - 26 | +14 | 84.7 | 1.39 |
 Nicolas 'Keoz' DgusKeoz | 44 - 32 | +12 | 99.0 | 1.38 |
| Christophe 'SIXER' XiaSIXER | 32 - 25 | +7 | 77.2 | 1.18 |
| Lambert 'Lambert' PrigentLambert | 28 - 31 | -3 | 63.7 | 1.00 |
| Bad News Bears | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan 'Shakezullah' HardemanShakezullah | 42 - 35 | +7 | 82.5 | 1.14 |
| Peter 'ptr' Gurneyptr | 31 - 35 | -4 | 74.7 | 0.97 |
| Michael 'Swisher' SchmidSwisher | 26 - 43 | -17 | 76.5 | 0.82 |
| Gabe 'Spongey' GreinerSpongey | 19 - 34 | -15 | 49.9 | 0.66 |
 Jonathan 'Jonji' CareyJonji | 20 - 45 | -25 | 60.7 | 0.54 |
Peter 'ptr' Gurney 
Age: 31 Team: Bad News Bears Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 1108 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.61 
Sprout #41 Timo 'Spiidi' RichterDenis 'denis' HowellMarko 'kressy' ĐorđevićJosef 'faveN' BaumannFritz 'slaxz-' Dietrich Robin 'ropz' Kool 
Age: 21 Team: MOUZ Rating 1.0: 1.12 Maps played: 973 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.62 MOUZ #7 Christopher 'dexter' NongDavid 'frozen' ČerňanskýFrederik 'acoR' GyldstrandRobin 'ropz' KoolAurimas 'Bymas' Pipiras 
Evil Geniuses #21 
Michał 'MICHU' MüllerPeter 'stanislaw' JarguzVincent 'Brehze' Cayonte
Tsvetelin 'CeRq' DimitrovOwen 'oBo' Schlatter Bad News Bears #57 Peter 'ptr' GurneyJonathan 'Jonji' CareyGabe 'Spongey' GreinerAlan 'Shakezullah' HardemanMichael 'Swisher' Schmid 
Linus 'LNZ' Holtäng 
Age: 18 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 0.97 Maps played: 190 KPR: 0.63 DPR: 0.63 
Vitality #9 Richard 'shox' PapillonDan 'apEX' MadesclaireMathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautKévin 'misutaaa' RabierJayson 'Kyojin' Nguyen Van Spirit #14 Leonid 'chopper' VishnyakovNikolay 'mir' BityukovViktor 'sdy' OrudzhevAbdul 'degster' GasanovBoris 'magixx' Vorobiev 
LDLC #42 Christophe 'SIXER' XiaLambert 'Lambert' PrigentAli 'hAdji' HaïnoussBryan 'Maka' CandaNicolas 'Keoz' Dgus 
Complexity #12 Justin 'jks' SavageWilliam 'RUSH' WierzbaKristian 'k0nfig' WieneckeValentin 'poizon' VasilevBenjamin 'blameF' Bremer Nikolay 'mir' Bityukov 
Age: 25 Team: Spirit Rating 1.0: 1.10 Maps played: 909 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.66 
ViCi #148 Zhuo 'advent' LiangWeiJie 'zhokiNg' ZhongZhiHong 'aumaN' Liu
Andrew 'kaze' KhongYi 'JamYoung' Yang Abdul 'degster' Gasanov 
Age: 19 Team: Spirit Rating 1.0: 1.19 Maps played: 528 KPR: 0.79 DPR: 0.60 Christopher 'dexter' Nong 
Age: 26 Team: MOUZ Rating 1.0: 1.12 Maps played: 848 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.66 Ninjas in Pyjamas #5 Nicolai 'device' ReedtzFredrik 'REZ' SternerHampus 'hampus' PoserNicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez ZamoraLinus 'LNZ' Holtäng 
TeamOne #51 Pedro 'Maluk3' CamposMatheus 'prt' Scuvero
Mario 'malbsMd' SamayoaMatheus 'pesadelo' PanissetEnzo 'xns' Henrique 
FaZe #36 Finn 'karrigan' AndersenOlof 'olofmeister' Kajbjer
Håvard 'rain' NygaardRussel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken
Helvijs 'broky' Saukants
