In another group stage match of ESL Pro League Season 20 in CS2, Ninjas in Pyjamas will face off against HEROIC. The match will take place on September 7, with the start scheduled for 14:30 EEST. We analyzed the statistics of both teams and made a prediction for the outcome of the upcoming match.
Current Form
At the moment, Ninjas in Pyjamas' form leaves much to be desired. Over the past month, across three matches, the team’s average rating at S-tier events is 5.5. A significant factor is the fact that the team has failed several recent qualifications, which does not inspire optimism about their current form.
The team has lost 4 out of their last 5 matches, falling to opponents such as GUN5, Monte, Natus Vincere, and FaZe Clan. The only match they won was against HEROIC at ESL Pro League Season 20, though that victory came due to a technical forfeit by the opponent for using the banned Snap Tap technology. If we evaluate NiP's game potential, their current form does not inspire confidence, and their chances of winning the upcoming match against HEROIC remain questionable.
HEROIC, despite having a higher average rating of 5.9, are also experiencing a slump. Over the past month, they have participated in two major tournaments — IEM Cologne 2024 and BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 #2, where the results were disappointing. In Cologne, the team finished in 17-20th place, and at the Belgrade event, they placed 7-8th.
Out of their last five matches, HEROIC managed to win only one, and that was against the Chinese team Lynn Vision. The other four losses were to teams like paiN Gaming, Eternal Fire, NiP, and Sangal Esports. However, it’s important to note that the team still has high potential, and their losses are often tied to specific tactical errors or individual player mistakes. With proper preparation, HEROIC can regain their confidence and deliver a solid result in the upcoming match.
Map Pool
The primary map that NiP consistently bans is Mirage — they’ve done this 26 times. This choice is justified, as the team traditionally struggles on Mirage. As for their map pick, they often choose Ancient, on which they have a high win rate — 69% over 29 matches. Additionally, Anubis is also a good map for them, with a 56% win rate. Given this, it is expected that NiP will once again ban Mirage and choose Ancient as their map.
HEROIC typically avoids the map Inferno, banning it 42 times, making it the most likely first ban. The team usually picks Ancient (24 times) or Nuke (24 times) as their map. However, their win rates on these maps are not very encouraging: 50% on Ancient and 54% on Nuke. Furthermore, HEROIC has similar win rates on Dust2 — 55%. Therefore, HEROIC will likely ban Inferno and pick Nuke as their map, leaving Dust2 for the decider.
Head-to-Head
NiP and HEROIC have faced each other quite often in the last six months — 5 times. Ninjas in Pyjamas have won three matches, while HEROIC have won two. Notably, the last meeting between these teams took place just two days ago, and NiP won it due to a technical defeat by HEROIC on the first map. The reason was an error by TeSeS, who used the banned Snap Tap technology on the first map. This incident significantly affected the outcome of the match, and without it, the result could have been different.
Prediction by Bo3.gg
Evaluating the current form of both teams, it can be said that neither is performing at their best. Neither team is showing confident play, but HEROIC looks somewhat stronger due to their higher average rating and experience in major tournaments. At the same time, NiP could capitalize on HEROIC's current uncertainty, as they did in the previous match.
Key factors will be the map selection and the individual form of the players on the day of the match. If NiP manages to secure their strong maps, such as Ancient and Anubis, and avoid mistakes, they could pose a serious challenge. However, HEROIC remain the favorites, and without any issues, they should come out on top.
PREDICTION: 2:1 in favor of HEROIC
ESL Pro League Season 20 runs from September 3 to September 22 in Malta. Teams are competing for a prize pool of $750,000. You can follow the schedule and results of the championship via the provided link.
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