{"id":416603,"date":"2026-08-14T22:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/?p=416603"},"modified":"2026-08-14T22:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:30:17","slug":"prediction-astralis-vs-nip-esports-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/prediction-astralis-vs-nip-esports-world-cup-2026","title":{"rendered":"Prediction Astralis vs Ninjas in Pyjamas: EWC 2026 Playoff Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Astralis and Ninjas in Pyjamas will meet in the Group B lower-bracket semifinal at the Esports World Cup 2026. Both teams are fighting to keep their tournament runs alive, with the winner advancing to the lower-bracket final and the loser being eliminated. Astralis enter the series as the favorite after recovering from their opening defeat to Falcons with a convincing victory over MIBR. NiP also bounced back strongly by defeating BetBoom 2-0, making this a much closer matchup than the rankings might suggest.<\/p>\n

Astralis look to build on their recovery<\/h3>\n
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Photo Copyright by Blast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Astralis had a difficult start to the tournament. They defeated MIBR 13-6 in the opening round but were then swept 2-0 by Falcons in the upper-bracket semifinal.<\/p>\n

The Danish side responded well in the lower bracket and remain the higher-ranked team heading into this match. Astralis are currently No. 11 in the world, compared to NiP at No. 28, while the community vote also favors Astralis by 63.2% to 36.8%.<\/p>\n

Their lineup of phzy, HooXi, jabbi, Staehr and ryu has enough individual quality to control the series, but recent results have been inconsistent, with losses to Falcons and MOUZ mixed with victories over MIBR, paiN and HOTU.<\/p>\n

NiP\u2019s tournament has followed a similar path. They suffered a 13-5 loss to Legacy in their opening match before responding with a 2-0 victory over BetBoom to stay alive. Their recent form remains unstable, however, with defeats to Legacy, magic and paiN among their latest results.<\/p>\n\n

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read more<\/p>\n

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\n \n PARIVISION sweep 100 Thieves to stay alive at Esports World Cup 2026 <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Map pool gives NiP several opportunities<\/h3>\n
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Photo Copyright by Starladder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The map pool is one of the main reasons why this matchup could become difficult for Astralis. Based on the teams\u2019 results over the past three months:<\/p>\n