Virtus.pro and OG are now placed in the lower bracket of the Play-In and will have to win one elimination match to book a spot in the main stage.
Ninjas in Pyjamas and Liquid have qualified for IEM Katowice after winning their upper bracket quarter-final series against Virtus.pro and OG, respectively. Meanwhile, Renegades defeated TeamOne in the first round of the lower bracket, eliminating the Brazilians from the Play-In stage.
Ninjas in Pyjamas scrapped a win on Overpass as Nicolas "Plopski" Gonzalez Zamora put up a stellar performance, (37-21 KD, 1.89 rating and 133 ADR). Virtus.pro were off to a good start on Dust2 and won the first six rounds, but the Swedes reacted on time and lost the first half by a minimal margin. Ninjas in Pyjamas chained four together to kick off their T side, putting pressure on the CIS side, who would win only three rounds before Hampus "hampus" Poser's side managed to close the game.
Meanwhile, in the other match for a spot in the main event, Liquid breezed past OG on Mirage thanks to a nearly-flawless CT side that saw them rack up 12 rounds. Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen's men would tie the series after a convincing Overpass display as they shut out the North American offence with a resolute defensive performance. The series was decided after a hard-fought match on Nuke, where Liquid denied a late comeback attempt from OG.
In the elimination match, TeamOne thrashed the Australians on Inferno off the back of a great collective display. Renegades took revenge on Mirage and steamrolled the Brazilians as Simon "Sico" Williams and Alistair "aliStair" Johnston combined for 43 kills. Renegades looked set for a victory on Overpass as they went 15-11 up, but then TeamOne won a key round with a scrappy buy and gained momentum to push the game to overtime. The Brazilians went on to take the lead, but Renegades kept their composure and won three rounds in a row to stay alive in the tournament.
IEM Katowice 2021 Play-inBest of 3
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Matchpage 2 0 16th February 2021 
Virtus.pro 16Overpass 13 16Dust2 11 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez ZamoraPlopski | 55 - 36 | +19 | 103.9 | 1.49 |
| Tim 'nawwk' Jonassonnawwk | 36 - 34 | +2 | 75.2 | 1.12 |
| Hampus 'hampus' Poserhampus | 38 - 37 | +1 | 74.6 | 1.08 |
| Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ | 31 - 27 | +4 | 64.2 | 1.04 |
| Erik 'ztr' Gustafssonztr | 31 - 36 | -5 | 54.9 | 0.85 |
| Virtus.pro | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dzhami 'Jame' AliJame | 46 - 35 | +11 | 80.1 | 1.20 |
 Mareks 'YEKINDAR' GaļinskisYEKINDAR | 44 - 43 | +1 | 93.2 | 1.19 |
 Sanjar 'SANJI' KulievSANJI | 34 - 37 | -3 | 61.4 | 0.93 |
 Alexey 'Qikert' GolubevQikert | 26 - 40 | -14 | 60.4 | 0.78 |
| Timur 'buster' Tulepovbuster | 19 - 39 | -20 | 57.6 | 0.72 |
Liquid
Matchpage 2 1 16th February 2021 
OG 16Mirage 7 7Overpass 16 16Nuke 14 | Liquid | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Keith 'NAF' MarkovicNAF | 64 - 45 | +19 | 92.2 | 1.30 |
| Jonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiEliGE | 57 - 58 | -1 | 87.6 | 1.11 |
 Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFalleN | 49 - 53 | -4 | 71.6 | 0.98 |
| Jake 'Stewie2K' YipStewie2K | 48 - 59 | -11 | 69.7 | 0.97 |
| Michael 'Grim' WinceGrim | 43 - 56 | -13 | 58.5 | 0.85 |
| OG | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mateusz 'mantuu' Wilczewskimantuu | 65 - 49 | +16 | 84.0 | 1.26 |
 Valdemar 'valde' Bjørn Vangsåvalde | 57 - 47 | +10 | 76.1 | 1.16 |
 Nathan 'NBK-' SchmittNBK- | 53 - 57 | -4 | 82.9 | 1.01 |
 Aleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenAleksib | 48 - 55 | -7 | 75.2 | 0.95 |
 Issa 'ISSAA' MuradISSAA | 47 - 53 | -6 | 66.5 | 0.94 |
TeamOneMatchpage 1 2 16th February 2021 
Renegades 16Inferno 3 4Mirage 16 17Overpass 19 | TeamOne | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felipe 'skullz' Medeirosskullz | 54 - 59 | -5 | 88.5 | 1.04 |
| Pedro 'Maluk3' CamposMaluk3 | 51 - 52 | -1 | 73.6 | 1.03 |
| Matheus 'pesadelo' Panissetpesadelo | 56 - 55 | +1 | 71.3 | 0.98 |
 Mario 'malbsMd' SamayoamalbsMd | 54 - 60 | -6 | 78.1 | 0.96 |
| Matheus 'prt' Scuveroprt | 40 - 53 | -13 | 59.6 | 0.82 |
| Renegades | K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alistair 'aliStair' JohnstonaliStair | 61 - 48 | +13 | 82.9 | 1.22 |
| Joshua 'INS' PotterINS | 57 - 56 | +1 | 92.9 | 1.18 |
 Simon 'Sico' WilliamsSico | 60 - 48 | +12 | 76.3 | 1.17 |
| Jordan 'Hatz' BajicHatz | 52 - 51 | +1 | 77.5 | 1.09 |
| Liam 'malta' Schembrimalta | 48 - 54 | -6 | 72.5 | 0.96 |
Ninjas in Pyjamas #15 Fredrik 'REZ' SternerHampus 'hampus' PoserTim 'nawwk' JonassonNicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez ZamoraErik 'ztr' Gustafsson Alistair 'aliStair' Johnston 
Age: 22 Team: Renegades Rating 1.0: 1.10 Maps played: 920 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.63 Renegades Simon 'Sico' WilliamsAlistair 'aliStair' JohnstonJoshua 'INS' PotterJordan 'Hatz' BajicLiam 'malta' Schembri Hampus 'hampus' Poser 
Age: 22 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 1119 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.69 
TeamOne #48 Pedro 'Maluk3' CamposMatheus 'prt' ScuveroMario 'malbsMd' SamayoaMatheus 'pesadelo' PanissetFelipe 'skullz' Medeiros 
Aleksi 'Aleksib' Virolainen 
Age: 23 Team: OG Rating 1.0: 0.98 Maps played: 846 KPR: 0.66 DPR: 0.66 Nicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez Zamora 
Age: 18 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 766 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.67 
Virtus.pro #5 Sanjar 'SANJI' KulievTimur 'buster' TulepovAlexey 'Qikert' GolubevDzhami 'Jame' AliMareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis Simon 'Sico' Williams 
Age: 26 Team: Renegades Rating 1.0: 1.17 Maps played: 765 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.58 OG #13 Nathan 'NBK-' SchmittValdemar 'valde' Bjørn VangsåAleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenIssa 'ISSAA' MuradMateusz 'mantuu' Wilczewski Liquid #7 Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoKeith 'NAF' MarkovicJonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiJake 'Stewie2K' YipMichael 'Grim' Wince