Liquid and Ninjas in Pyjamas are off to great starts in IEM Katowice's New Legends Stage after picking up close victories over AVANGAR and NRG, respectively.

The secondary stream match, featuring No.2 side in the world Liquid, began with a solid start from the North American side, who hopped out to a 2-0 lead on the Terrorist side after a perfect pistol round.

After buying up, AVANGAR kept the Terrorists at bay in a series of rounds, eventually taking the lead in the game. Liquid did not let the game get out of hand, though, and won five rounds in a row with a methodical approach, but a late resurgence saw AVANGAR end the half on top.

Twistzz led the way for Liquid in a closely-contested game

The second half started at a frantic pace as rounds kept being traded and neither side looked capable of stamping their authority on the game. That trend was not to last, though, as AVANGAR put their foot down in the 18th round and strung a few rounds together, bringing the scoreline to 12-9.

Things were starting to look a bit desperate for Liquid, but the North American side picked up the pace with some great plays by Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken - who kept the team alive in a series of touch-and-go situations - and went on a seven-round streak to seal a hard-fought victory at 16-12.

IEM Katowice 2019Best of 1 LiquidMatchpage 16 12 20th February 2019 AVANGAR 16Overpass 12

Liquid	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Russel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenTwistzz	26 - 12	+14	73.5	1.42
Keith 'NAF' MarkovicNAF	20 - 17	+3	86.8	1.30
Jake 'Stewie2K' YipStewie2K	19 - 19	0	83.3	1.15
Jonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiEliGE	17 - 18	-1	76.3	1.03
Nick 'nitr0' Cannellanitr0	15 - 16	-1	54.9	0.99

AVANGAR	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Alexey 'Qikert' GolubevQikert	27 - 22	+5	105.0	1.44
Dzhami 'Jame' AliJame	17 - 12	+5	76.4	1.29
Timur 'buster' Tulepovbuster	15 - 19	-4	56.1	0.73
Bektiyar 'fitch' Bahytovfitch	11 - 22	-11	44.1	0.59
Aidyn 'KrizzeN' TurlybekovKrizzeN	12 - 22	-10	46.4	0.57

Over on the mainstream, NRG and Ninjas in Pyjamas played out an exciting Nuke thriller that went the full distance. After losing the pistol round, NRG replied immediately with Desert Eagles and took the lead, but then the Ninjas set up a very tight defence, cruising to an 11-4 advantage off the back of a monstrous half by Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg, who racked up 22 kills.

Ninjas in Pyjamas put even more pressure on NRG with a successful T pistol, but there was no follow-up as the North Americans hit back in a force-buy courtesy of a trio of kills by Jacob "⁠FugLy⁠" Medina.

REZ and f0rest were in stunning form vs. NRG

That round victory sparked a great run from the North American side, who held off the Terrorists time and time again, eventually restoring parity at 13-13. However, it was all for nought as the Ninjas dominated proceedings in the dying stages of the game and sealed the deal thanks to a phenomenal T side display from Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner.

IEM Katowice 2019Best of 1 NRGMatchpage 14 16 20th February 2019 Ninjas in Pyjamas 14Nuke 16

NRG	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Damian 'daps' Steeledaps	23 - 20	+3	87.0	1.21
Vincent 'Brehze' CayonteBrehze	22 - 21	+1	76.3	1.03
Ethan 'Ethan' ArnoldEthan	20 - 22	-2	72.8	1.01
Jacob 'FugLy' MedinaFugLy	21 - 22	-1	73.8	0.97
Tsvetelin 'CeRq' DimitrovCeRq	12 - 21	-9	42.4	0.66

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	33 - 17	+16	92.2	1.53
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	31 - 19	+12	99.6	1.52
Jonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonLekr0	19 - 22	-3	84.5	1.01
Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundGeT_RiGhT	12 - 19	-7	56.6	0.75
Dennis 'dennis' Edmandennis	11 - 21	-10	40.9	0.70

The New Legends stage 1W - 0L FaZe Natus Vincere Vitality Liquid Renegades Ninjas in Pyjamas 0W - 0L Astralis Complexity MIBR Cloud9 0W - 1L NRG ENCE AVANGAR BIG G2 HellRaisers AVANGAR #16 Bektiyar 'fitch' BahytovTimur 'buster' TulepovAidyn 'KrizzeN' TurlybekovAlexey 'Qikert' GolubevDzhami 'Jame' Ali Liquid #2 Nick 'nitr0' CannellaKeith 'NAF' MarkovicJonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiJake 'Stewie2K' YipRussel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken Ninjas in Pyjamas #6 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergChristopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundDennis 'dennis' EdmanJonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonFredrik 'REZ' Sterner Jacob 'FugLy' Medina Age: 24 Team: NRG Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 934 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.65 Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken Age: 19 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 742 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.63 NRG #4 Damian 'daps' SteeleJacob 'FugLy' MedinaVincent 'Brehze' CayonteEthan 'Ethan' ArnoldTsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov Patrik 'f0rest' Lindberg Age: 30 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.13 Maps played: 1465 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.65 Fredrik 'REZ' Sterner Age: 21 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 729 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.66