Top Inferno CS2 Matches of All Time: NIP vs Fnatic, ESL One Cologne 2014

Competitive esports players always operate at the highest level possible, which makes it no surprise that the best way to improve your own skills is by watching professional CS players in action. In the earliest days of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, there was only one true team that could be called king. Ninjas in Pyjamas’ iconic all-Swedish roster from 2012 is best known for their 87-0 map winning streak, which is a record that stands to this day and is still widely regarded as one of the most impressive accomplishments ever in Counter-Strike history.

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CS2 Inferno T-Side Guide

But, as the competition finally caught up to the Ninjas in Pyjamas, their dominance also started to falter right around the time the first few CS:GO Major Championships took place. DreamHack Winter 2013 and EMS One Katowice 2014 were the first two Majors ever held, and on both those occasions, NIP reached the grand final only to fall short of the trophy.

The Final

NIP reached a third consecutive Major grand final at ESL One Cologne 2014, but even then, it looked like it was going to be yet another heartbreak in their story, especially when you consider their opponents are Fnatic, who beat them a year earlier in Jönköping.

NIP secured Map 1 with a flawless CT side performance before Fnatic equalized the series with a dominant performance on Cache, leading to a Major-defining contest on Inferno. The resulting game would become one of the greatest matches ever played on Inferno.

When you compare the action that took place on the third map of this grand final to the standards of modern-day Counter-Strike, one could argue that the overall level of play has improved by a significant margin. But that’s not what makes this specific game special.

16-13

It all culminated in a stunning comeback victory for NIP, yes, but it’s the team’s story that really puts this in a special place in esports history. The trophy was denied back-to-back times. Their claim as the “best team in the world” after their 87-0 streak was snapped was getting rockier by the day.

And yet, against their fiercest rivals in Fnatic, NIP took home Inferno with a final scoreline of 16-13 after being down 6-9 in the first half to claim their first-ever Major championship. NIP stared down a daunting 1-5 deficit before clawing their way back into the game, giving their fans some hope that this tournament could finally be the one.

The Aftermath

NIP eventually caught up and leveled the score at 13-all thanks to a Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson triple-kill followed by two more from Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg. From there, destiny awaited. The King of Banana, Adam “friberg” Friberg, took over the CS world in his very kingdom. Richard “Xizt” Landström finally captained his Ninjas to a Major trophy.

Even the best player in the world, NIP’s own Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, was seen visibly emotional as a forever iconic photograph of him sitting on the floor next to the ESL One Cologne trophy broke the internet.

Redemption

Oh, and it also led to the creation of one of the most popular fragmovies in the Counter-Strike community.

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