Natus Vincere are through to the semi-finals at MLG Columbus after moving past Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0 (16-9 on Inferno and 16-10 on Mirage).

The series kicked off on Inferno, and the story about the opening six rounds was all about Na`Vi's great defensive setup inside the A site. Time and time again, NiP were left frustrated while trying to enter the site, and they had to rely on a 1vs2 clutch from Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg to finally claim a round.

The Swedes would be able to make it two in a row, but then Na`Vi regained control of proceedings and went on a fantastic run that saw them close out the half with a commanding 13-2 lead.

In the second half, NiP looked the livelier of the two sides during the early stages, winning seven of the first eight rounds, with Adam "⁠friberg⁠" Friberg leading the charge. Na`Vi were struggling to build up their bank, but then Ladislav "⁠GuardiaN⁠" Kovács did what he does best as he paved the way for his team to win the round with two crucial AWP kills, putting the CIS team on map point before Ioann "⁠Edward⁠" Sukhariev applied the finishing blow in a 1vs2 clutch.

Na`Vi move on in Columbus 

Na`Vi carried their momentum into the second map, Mirage, and strolled to a 5-0 lead after a flying start on the Terrorist side. NiP then picked up a round but they were unable to build on them, getting reset and being forced to call a timetout. The move paid off as NiP turned a 1-6 deficit into a hotly-contested 5-7 scoreline, displaying great synergy in two eco rounds, but Na`Vi strung the last three rounds together to take a five-round lead into the break.

It was more of the same in the early stages of the second half as Na`Vi picked up four rounds in succession to get dangerously close to match point. With no margin for error, NiP still tried to find their way back into the game and won five of the next six rounds, but Na`Vi remained calm and collected and sealed a 16-10 victory that puts them through to the last-four stage-

MLG Columbus 2016Best of 3 Natus VincereMatchpage 2 0 1st April 2016 Ninjas in Pyjamas 16Inferno 9 16Mirage 10

Natus Vincere	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Denis 'seized' Kostinseized	50 - 28	+22	99.8	1.48
Egor 'flamie' Vasilyevflamie	47 - 33	+14	92.5	1.35
Ioann 'Edward' SukharievEdward	40 - 25	+15	79.1	1.28
Ladislav 'GuardiaN' KovácsGuardiaN	32 - 36	-4	66.8	0.98
Danylo 'Zeus' TeslenkoZeus	28 - 31	-3	69.0	0.92

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Patrik 'f0rest' Lindbergf0rest	38 - 38	0	77.8	1.05
Richard 'Xizt' LandströmXizt	36 - 41	-5	78.3	1.03
Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundGeT_RiGhT	29 - 41	-12	69.2	0.88
Adam 'friberg' Fribergfriberg	31 - 37	-6	71.5	0.82
Björn 'THREAT' PersTHREAT	18 - 40	-22	49.7	0.58

Ioann 'Edward' Sukhariev Age: 28 Team: Natus Vincere Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 748 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.67 Ladislav 'GuardiaN' Kovács Age: 24 Team: Natus Vincere Rating 1.0: 1.17 Maps played: 737 KPR: 0.79 DPR: 0.62 Adam 'friberg' Friberg Age: 24 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.04 Maps played: 877 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.66 Patrik 'f0rest' Lindberg Age: 27 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.18 Maps played: 876 KPR: 0.80 DPR: 0.64