NIP’s return to Tier 1 at PGL Astana 2025 is looking better than expected, despite two losses

It’s sad to watch some of Counter-Strike’s legacy organizations flounder and perpetually suffer in vain attempts to recapture former glories. There are plenty of examples in recent years, Fnatic and Astralis being two of the most notable. But then, there’s Ninjas in Pyjamas. Once CS:GO Major winners, in more recent times, NIP have been relegated to being online CCT warriors, forced to climb the brutal online CS circuit after blowing up their roster at the start of the year.

To their credit, they have done an admirable job since picking up Snappi, sjuush, and SAW duo ewjerks and arrozdoce. They have managed to reach rank 36 in the Valve Regional Standings, after falling as low as 186 back in March. They’re almost at the point of receiving direct Tier 1 LAN invites, which was always the goal for this roster.

Prior to PGL Astana 2025, there was a natural curiosity about Ninjas in Pyjamas. Since putting this roster together, it was their first LAN of this standard, and fans wanted to know how they’d fare in their return to the top. Would they be the NIP we’ve seen in recent years, true specialists in failure? Or would they put on a show reminiscent of vintage Ninjas in Pyjamas? The jury’s still out, but it’s looking like something in between.

NIP’s form offers future hope despite unlucky draws

Ninjas in Pyjamas’ opener at PGL Astana was arguably one they wanted to avoid. Virtus.pro is a tough opponent for anyone, and certainly not a team you want to be looking at across the room in your return to Tier 1 Counter-Strike. Yet, despite this, NIP rose to the task admirably, taking down the Russian squad in a close 2:1 series. They avoided bombing out by notching at least one victory, which is a win in and of itself.

Then, in the 1:0 bracket, NIP were grossly unfortunate to be drawn against Spirit, arguably the third-best CS2 team in the world right now behind Falcons and Vitality. Sure, they lost 2:0, but NIP did manage to drag one of the maps to Overtime before Spirit’s firepower overwhelmed them. Another rough stroke of luck followed in the 1:1 bracket, where Turkish team Aurora awaited. Once again, it was an admirable showing, with NIP this time even taking a map from Aurora, although that experience for the latter eventually prevailed.

Often in sports, there are contests where you think more of the loser after their defeat. NIP’s last two matches at PGL Astana have been just that. Not to reward failure, but it’s hard not to see the positives in NIP’s form given how they’ve fought for their spot at events like this over the past few months.

The secret for Ninjas in Pyjamas has been Train. Despite being in the Active Duty map pool for some time now, many of the top teams are resistant to adding Train to their map pool. NIP have been the exact opposite, embracing Train and making it their home turf in online matches. For context, NIP have played Train 14 times this year. Virtus.pro, their opening opponents, have played it just six times in 2025. These reps have carried into their LAN form, with the team looking mighty impressive on it at PGL Astana. And yes, Train is the map where NIP dragged Spirit to Overtime, for an idea of how strong they’ve looked on it recently. Admittedly, the rest of their map pool doesn’t quite have the same potency, but as a bar for the potential of this lineup, their Train is a positive sign.

sjuush is the secret for potential NIP resurgence

If you had to point to one player as a key reason for NIP looking surprisingly decent at PGL Astana 2025, it’s sjuush. With a rating of 1.29 across eight maps played so far, he is the fourth-highest-rated player in attendance right now, despite playing in two losing series.

The former Heroic star has always been called upon on his teams to make the most of some very tough positions on the server, and he has frequently delivered. You wouldn’t have blamed him for feeling that the online grind was beneath his level, as there’s no doubt he belongs at Tier 1 LANs alongside his peers. Yet, the Dane has waited for his chance, and you can’t deny that he’s grasping it with two hands so far.

For Ninjas in Pyjamas, two wins are required now to play in front of a crowd in the PGL Astana 2025 Playoffs, beginning tomorrow against a HOTU side who are clinging on despite being one of the tournament’s biggest underdogs. Given their valiant attempts against simply stronger opposition, I really think they can do it on current evidence.