Natus Vincere have upset NiP 2-0 (16-3 de_dust2, 19-15 de_train) to open their campaign at SLTV StarSeries IX Finals in Kiev, Ukraine.
Na`Vi opened up de_dust2 with a terrorist side pistol round win that allowed them to go up 3-0. NiP easily won round four, but Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson got picked next and all of his teammates had to save.
Up 4-1, the home team easily took over A via catwalk and Denis "seized" Kostin's triple forced NiP to save. NiP's struggles defending catwalk continued, and Na`Vi extended their lead to 7-1
Doubles from both Kostin and Sergey "starix" Ischuk kept Na`Vi's streak alive, while Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund saved. Alesund would have to save next round as well, scoring a triple in the process, as NiP's deficit grew to 1-9.
The Swedes altered their setup then, with two players pushing to lower B tunnels and Adam "friberg" Friberg being the beneficiary with two kills. NiP won the next round as well, cutting Na`Vi's lead to six.
NiP looked to be making a comeback as they got to a four-on-two advantage, but Johansson missed an easy shot towards middle and Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács made NiP pay with a quick one-on-three victory.
GuardiaN made GeT_RiGhT pay for any mistakes with his AWP
Natus Vincere won the next round easily as NiP didn't have proper equipment, and despite Friberg's Scout pick on Kovács in the middle, the CIS-based team rallied to a 12-3 half time lead.
Johansson almost made up for his mistake with two Glock kills in a two-on-four in NiP's pistol round, but Danilo "Zeus" Teslenko won a crucial one-on-one, giving his side a 13-3 lead.
The Ninjas attempted a force buy, but a double from Kovács kept them at bay. NiP then attacked the middle, but were completely massacred by Na`Vi, who gained their first map point.
After Teslenko's kills in the middle got Na`Vi a chance to close it out, the home team wasted no time as they easily retook the A site with doubles from Kostin and Kovács, winning the map 16-3.
NiP got the first two kills on their defensive de_train pistol round, but a triple from Ischuk and a one-on-one win by Teslenko over Alesund were enough to overcome NiP for a 3-0 lead.
starix came up huge on the terrorist pistol round on de_train
The Swedes successfully defused in a three-on-two situation to win round four, and Alesund's smart play in the inner bombsite shut down Na`Vi to cut NiP's deficit to one.
The CIS-based team adjusted and their quick outside hit took out NiP. An odd Friberg AWP buy won NiP a partial buy next, but Kovács' one-on-two heroics in the inner bombsite then made it 5-3.
After a save round, doubles by Alesund and Johansson got NiP within two. Kovács then once more played the hero, picking NiP off one by one with his AWP with help from Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev and Teslenko.
Down 4-7, NiP started a comeback. They won three straight rounds, including one with Friberg's delayed rotation FAMAS kills outside, a Na`Vi save and one where Richard "Xizt" Landström's triple outside got them the W.
Tied for the first time in the series, NiP had to surrender the final round to a slow outer hit by Na`Vi. To make matters worse, the home team's passive play in inner resulted in NiP losing the second half pistol round as well.
Xizt's NiP couldn't get further than overtime in the series
The Swedes came close to winning a save next, scoring three kills total, and were able to win round three due to Na`Vi's weak money situation. Sukhariev then scored three kills and an assist on a save, but Teslenko had no time to defuse.
Sukhariev's effort seemed to give Na`Vi some momentum nonetheless, as they demolished NiP quickly on the next round. That forced the Swedes on a save, and they found themselves trailing 9-12.
NiP kept running into a brickwall, and after another save round found themselves down 9-14. Just when you thought it was all over, Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg's side started another comeback.
A few big kills by Johansson won them round 25, and two rounds later Lindberg exploded with quick three entries. NiP found themselves in the lead for the first time at 15-14, but were unable to close out the series.
In the overtime it was all Natus Vincere. The Swedes had no answers to Na`Vi's reset defense, and lost all three terrorist rounds. Na`Vi completed their 2-0 up with Kostin's one-on-two outside for a 19-15 win. SLTV StarSeries IX FinalsBest of 2 
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Matchpage 0 2 2nd May 2014 
Natus Vincere 3Dust2 16 15Train 19
| Natus Vincere | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 1.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Denis 'seized' Kostinseized | 51 - 37 | +14 | - | 1.38 |
| Ioann 'Edward' SukharievEdward | 45 - 31 | +14 | - | 1.28 |
 Ladislav 'GuardiaN' KovácsGuardiaN | 43 - 27 | +16 | - | 1.25 |
| Danylo 'Zeus' TeslenkoZeus | 35 - 28 | +7 | - | 1.10 |
| Sergey 'starix' Ischukstarix | 27 - 35 | -8 | - | 0.77 |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 1.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundGeT_RiGhT | 38 - 34 | +4 | - | 1.00 |
| Richard 'Xizt' LandströmXizt | 37 - 39 | -2 | - | 0.95 |
| Adam 'friberg' Fribergfriberg | 33 - 43 | -10 | - | 0.82 |
| Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest | 29 - 39 | -10 | - | 0.75 |
| Robin 'Fifflaren' JohanssonFifflaren | 21 - 46 | -25 | - | 0.50 |
Next up will be the other opening match between Virtus.pro and Titan, set to begin at 18:30 . That will close out the first day in Kiev, with more matches tomorrow.
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