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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.

NIP cruised through the Play-In

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 PyjamasMatchpage 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

IEM Cologne 2021 Play-inBest of 3 SpiritMatchpage 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

IEM Cologne 2021 Play-inBest of 3 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' CayonteTsvetelin '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' LiuAndrew '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' ScuveroMario 'malbsMd' SamayoaMatheus 'pesadelo' PanissetEnzo 'xns' Henrique FaZe #36 Finn 'karrigan' AndersenOlof 'olofmeister' KajbjerHåvard 'rain' NygaardRussel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenHelvijs 'broky' Saukants