Krimbo leads NIP past Eternal Fire to secure second consecutive title at ROG JOURNEY
Ninjas in Pyjamas secured their second consecutive title by defeating Eternal Fire 2–0 in the ROG JOURNEY Autumn 2026 grand final on October 3. A commanding 13–4 victory on Dust2 put NIP ahead before they recovered from a 7–10 deficit on Inferno to close the series 13–11.
Krimbo led the final with a 1.50 rating, while stavn supplied 37 kills alongside him. The victory followed NIP’s success at 1win Private Club Season 1 and earned the international lineup another $10,000 first-place prize.
NIP dismantle Eternal Fire’s Dust2 pick
Eternal Fire selected Dust2, but NIP quickly took control. They won the opening five rounds and reached halftime with an 8–4 advantage before sweeping the second half to finish the map without allowing another round.
Krimbo was the standout, recording 19 kills against seven deaths and a 1.63 rating. His performance gave NIP a reliable advantage throughout the opener, but the supporting contributions were equally significant: sjuush delivered 96.0 ADR and won two clutches, while stavn added four opening kills.
All five NIP players finished Dust2 with positive kill-death differences and ratings above 1.00. That distribution helps explain why Eternal Fire struggled to find a route back into their own pick. NIP won the opening-duel battle 10–7 and took three clutches to Eternal Fire’s one, combining early advantages with stronger recovery in difficult rounds.
| Map | Picked by | NIP | Eternal Fire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dust2 | Eternal Fire | 13 | 4 |
| Inferno | NIP | 13 | 11 |
| Cache | Decider | Not played | Not played |
Six rounds from seven turn Inferno around
Inferno presented a much tougher test. Eternal Fire opened with three consecutive rounds and later established a 7–3 lead. NIP salvaged the final two rounds of their attacking half, but losing the first two after the switch left them trailing 5–9.
The decisive recovery came after Eternal Fire reached 10–7. NIP won four straight rounds to take the lead, conceded the equalizer at 11–11, then claimed the final two rounds to secure the trophy.
The comeback rested on an eight-round CT half. Opening kills were evenly split across the map at 12–12, suggesting that the difference extended beyond simply finding the first frag.
Stavn provided the most direct pressure for NIP: 22 kills, 14 AWP kills and a 7–3 opening-duel record. Krimbo remained influential with 18 kills and 91.2 ADR.
For Eternal Fire, jottAAA produced 18 kills, 100.8 ADR and a 1.49 rating. His strong individual showing kept the map competitive, but it was not enough to prevent NIP from winning six of the final seven rounds.
Krimbo and stavn carry the final
The series totals show how much NIP’s two leading performers contributed. Krimbo and stavn both finished with 37 kills, accounting for almost half of their team’s 150 kills across the two maps.
| Player | Team | K-D | +/− | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Krimbo | NIP | 37–23 | +14 | 92.0 | 82.9% | 1.50 |
| stavn | NIP | 37–25 | +12 | 88.0 | 80.5% | 1.42 |
| xKacpersky | NIP | 28–26 | +2 | 81.3 | 82.9% | 1.06 |
| sjuush | NIP | 23–22 | +1 | 67.7 | 65.9% | 0.99 |
| adamb | NIP | 25–24 | +1 | 59.7 | 78.0% | 0.92 |
| jottAAA | Eternal Fire | 28–30 | −2 | 83.0 | 65.9% | 1.19 |
| soulfly | Eternal Fire | 25–30 | −5 | 62.4 | 65.9% | 1.09 |
| regali | Eternal Fire | 28–28 | 0 | 71.8 | 63.4% | 0.91 |
| Kvem | Eternal Fire | 24–31 | −7 | 60.3 | 56.1% | 0.83 |
| MisteM | Eternal Fire | 14–33 | −19 | 44.6 | 63.4% | 0.68 |
Krimbo combined the highest series rating with the highest ADR, while stavn’s opening impact on Inferno made him central to the closer. Eternal Fire received useful contributions from jottAAA and soulfly, but MisteM’s 14–33 finish left a substantial gap in firepower.
A group-stage setback gives way to an 8–1 playoff run
Both finalists finished their groups with four wins and one defeat, placing second and entering the playoffs in the round of 12. NIP’s only group loss was a 4–13 defeat to Sangal on Nuke; Eternal Fire fell 12–16 to 100 Thieves on Anubis.
Their knockout paths then diverged. NIP dropped only one map across four playoff victories, while Eternal Fire needed deciding maps against both BASEMENT BOYS and JiJieHao.
| Team | Stage | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIP | Round of 12 | Johnny Speeds | Won 2–0 |
| NIP | Quarter-final | SINNERS | Won 2–1 |
| NIP | Semi-final | BBL | Won 2–0 |
| NIP | Grand final | Eternal Fire | Won 2–0 |
| Eternal Fire | Round of 12 | BASEMENT BOYS | Won 2–1 |
| Eternal Fire | Quarter-final | Sangal | Won 2–0 |
| Eternal Fire | Semi-final | JiJieHao | Won 2–1 |
| Eternal Fire | Grand final | NIP | Lost 0–2 |
NIP’s quarter-final was their biggest obstacle. They lost their Cache pick 9–13 to SINNERS before recovering with 13–10 on Mirage and 13–9 on Nuke. They then defeated BBL 13–6 on Ancient and 13–11 on Cache, showing that the earlier Cache loss did not become a recurring problem.
The final changes the balance of NIP’s firepower
NIP had different players leading their earlier playoff wins. Stavn posted a 1.83 rating against Johnny Speeds, while xKacpersky topped the semi-final against BBL with a 1.46 rating and 103.4 ADR.
Krimbo’s final continued his strong recent output: his rating increased from 1.20 against Johnny Speeds to 1.38 against BBL and 1.50 against Eternal Fire. Stavn also improved from his 1.18 semi-final rating to 1.42 in the title match. Those comparisons show how NIP’s leading contributions shifted between rounds.
Eternal Fire experienced the opposite swing with MisteM. He had led their semi-final victory over JiJieHao with 63 kills and a 1.44 rating, only to finish the final at 0.68. The drop removed a major contributor from the previous round, placing more pressure on jottAAA and the rest of the lineup.
NIP leave Skövde with consecutive titles and an 8–1 playoff map record at ROG JOURNEY. Eternal Fire finish second with $4,000, having reached the final through two three-map victories. For NIP, the title also brought a reported 82-point VRS gain, strengthening their position in the Major invitation race.
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