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The Swedish side were knocked down to Group A's lower bracket, where they'll face FURIA.

Vitality became the second team to secure a spot in the playoffs of ESL Pro League Season 18 after taking down Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0. It was a one-sided affair in favor of Danny "⁠zonic⁠" Sørensen's men as the Ninjas looked completely unrecognizable from the squad that swept through Astralis on Wednesday.

The world's No.1 team is now poised to secure a spot directly in the quarter-finals as they are scheduled to fight Movistar Riders on Sunday at 16:00 . The Spanish squad has been the surprise package from Group A, but it's difficult to imagine how they can hold out against Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut and company.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
03/09/2023	Movistar Riders16:00 Vitality	Match

The series began on Ninjas in Pyjamas' map pick of Mirage, and it wasn't a pleasant experience for Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser's men. Despite finding several entry frags and bomb plants, the European mix wasn't able to find much success in their offensive half as they trailed 2-13 before the break.

Ninjas in Pyjamas claimed the pistol round after switching sides as a consolation prize before Vitality closed the map 16-3, courtesy of Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi's nuclear performance worthy of a 2.32 rating.

Ninjas in Pyjamas showed signs of life on Nuke as they organized a competitive CT side, powered by hampus and Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin, but they were only able to claim an 8-7 lead before halftime.

Unfortunately for the Swedish core, Vitality kickstarted their CT side on fire, and only conceded one round on their way to a 16-9 victory. It was a team effort for Vitality as every player from the European mix registered a rating above 1.13, and Ninjas in Pyjamas could not handle all five players in form.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
01/09/2023	Ninjas in Pyjamas19:30 FURIA	Match

The Ninjas will continue their EPL run from Group A's lower bracket, where they'll face FURIA hoping to avoid the drop to the Last Chance bracket.

Vitality	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Lotan 'Spinx' GiladiSpinx	50 - 27	+23	110.2	1.62
Mathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautZywOo	35 - 21	+14	82.9	1.34
Shahar 'flameZ' ShushanflameZ	33 - 21	+12	78.8	1.33
Emil 'Magisk' ReifMagisk	29 - 24	+5	70.8	1.13
Dan 'apEX' MadesclaireapEX	27 - 26	+1	73.7	1.12

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ludvig 'Brollan' BrolinBrollan	29 - 36	-7	86.0	0.97
Hampus 'hampus' Poserhampus	24 - 35	-11	71.0	0.84
Daniil 'headtr1ck' Valitovheadtr1ck	22 - 31	-9	62.5	0.83
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	21 - 35	-14	52.0	0.71
Kristian 'k0nfig' Wieneckek0nfig	23 - 37	-14	63.6	0.70