Grudge matches like these are usually reserved for finals.

NIP and Astralis, two Titan organisations of Countrr-Strike, faced off today in an elimination match that is the culmination of two years of a shared story for the two teams.

k0nfig strikes back

k0nfig has played well for NIP during the RMRs. Photo: Michal Konkol

With the first map to be played on Nuke, both teams would be keen to establish an early lead in the series.

device, who had been Astralis’ star at the event thus far, continued strong, although he alone couldn’t match the dragging output of the NIP stars. Every member of NIP has more kills than everyone on Astralis except device, a key reason why they were able to lead 12-3 at halftime.

NIP were in pole position to take map one, and they didn’t falter. They only dropped one round in the second half as the international team eased to a 16-4 victory.

Unable to handle the heights

device and Astralis miss out on a second Major in a row. Photo: Michal Konkol

Determined to make his return to a CS:GO Major, device continued to play at his peak ability during map two. blameF also attempted to fight back on Vertigo, while Xyp9x would also start to look more like himself as he tried to keep the team in with a chance of being in Paris.

As a result, map two was far closer, although still not as close as the Danes would have liked.

If the hero of their story is device, the villain is undoubtedly k0nfig. Removed following controversy in late 2022, k0nfig has made multiple jokes about the misfortunes of Astralis in the months that have followed.

NIP one win away

NIP is one win away from making it to the Major. Photo: Michal Konkol

It seems right then, that the man to sink Astralis was their former member. Racking up 22 kills in the process, k0nfig had his Empire Strikes Back moment as he and his team reigned supreme over two maps.

With the final score being 16-11, NIP had dumped Astralis out of Major contention without really breaking a sweat.

NIP still have one game to play if they wish to qualify for the BLAST.tv Paris Major, so k0nfig may not truly get the last laugh, but if you want to find out whether he does, stay tuned to BLAST.tv.