Astralis

What decided the map

The Astralis defense regularly invested its opening utility in Middle, A Main and Checkers, reproducing a structure familiar from previous maps.
On CT, Astralis sent 28 grenades into both Middle and A Main, with both areas targeted in 10 of 12 rounds; Checkers received 14 grenades in 9 of 12. They had played this way before: a package with smokes in Middle and Checkers around 0:07–0:09, a molotov in Middle at 0:08 and a smoke in A Main at 0:10 appeared in 5 rounds with an 80% win rate.
R5R8R12
The Ninjas in Pyjamas T side invested heavily in A Main and A Site, but their deaths at key entry points rarely received a quick response.
They used 23 grenades in A Main in 8 of 12 rounds and 20 in A Site, also in 8 of 12. The team lost 8 players on A Site with a 12% trade rate, and 6 players each in Checkers and B Site with 0% trades; the overall T-side rate was 19%.
R1R5R12
On CT, Ninjas in Pyjamas secured enough opening kills, but the next contact too often erased the advantage.
The team won the first contact in 4 of 8 defensive rounds and won only 1 of those 4 — a 25% conversion rate against a 71% average on Cache. B Site had 6 deaths with 0% trades, while Truck had 5 with 20%.
R16R17R19R20

What they did differently

Astralis T — Staehr played Middle (4 of 8), while usually it is Garage (12 of 25)
Ninjas in Pyjamas T — they usually run 5 Mid (14 of 35); here it was 1 B + 4 Mid (3 of 12)
Ninjas in Pyjamas T — sjuush played Outside B (4 of 12), while usually it is Garage (15 of 35)

How to use this

Against Astralis

After the opening smokes and molotovs around 0:07–0:10, recheck Middle: Astralis invested utility there in 10 of 12 CT rounds, and their previous package was also built around Middle.
On T side, prepare an early response against Staehr in Middle: in this match, he started there in 4 of 8 rounds and found an opening in that area at 0:16.
Isolate the exit from B Main and force a delayed second contact: Astralis lost 4 players there on T side, and none of those deaths were traded.

Against Ninjas in Pyjamas

Save a late molotov or grenade for A Main and A Site: the Ninjas in Pyjamas T side invested in each of these areas in 8 of 12 rounds.
Check Outside B by 0:20, especially against sjuush: in this match, he started there in 4 of 12 T rounds instead of his more usual Garage.
On their CT side, stretch B Site and Truck with two consecutive contacts: Ninjas in Pyjamas lost 11 players in these areas, with trade rates of 0% and 20% respectively.

Get this report for your own demo All reports

How it looked

R5 · 1:30
Opening without a stable post-plant
Ninjas in Pyjamas gained an advantage through stavn in A Main and reached the plant with a T5 — CT4 setup, but jabbi's death went untraded. The T-side positions then became disconnected: Snappi moved through Vent and Middle, then died in Garage without a response from his teammates; stavn was also killed on A Site without a trade. By 1:18, Astralis already had a CT4 — T2 advantage, although Ninjas in Pyjamas started the round on an eco and brought it close to a winning position. The sequence shows the main risk in their T side: the opening utility in B Site, CT Spawn and Checkers established the intent, but after the plant the players did not maintain the spacing needed for a return kill.
After this opening (19 similar rounds on the map on an eco): the hit goes B in 100% against the map's usual 74%; the bomb goes down in 84% of rounds against 44%.
Steps123456
R12
The familiar structure closed out the half
Astralis opened with Staehr's smoke in Middle at 0:07, his molotov in the same area at 0:08, jabbi's smoke in Checkers at 0:08 and ryu's smoke in A Main at 0:11. This set was almost identical to their previous CT package, which appeared in 5 rounds in the earlier sample. After jabbi's opening in Squeaky, the Ninjas in Pyjamas players died in different areas: xKacpersky on A Site, Snappi in Garage, sjuush near Catwalk — none of the five deaths were traded. The setup allowed Astralis to finish the round with all five players alive and stop the opponent's run.
After this opening (14 similar rounds on the map on a full buy): the hit goes B in 100% against the map's usual 63%.
Steps12345
R16
stavn's opening kill lasted less than one second
stavn opened the round with an awp from B Site against HooXi in Checkers, giving Ninjas in Pyjamas a CT5 — T4 advantage. By 0:19, two defenders were exposed from TYard: n0te died in CTLane without a trade, while HooXi's death was answered by Staehr through stavn near Truck. The setup immediately flipped to T4 — CT3, after which the B plant came at 0:30. Astralis' smokes in B Site at 0:09 and 0:25 and their molotov in the same area at 0:27 indicated a fast plan, but the decisive factor was that the CT opening did not give Ninjas in Pyjamas a safe next contact.
After this opening (14 similar rounds on the map on a force buy): the hit goes B in 100% against the map's usual 67%; the bomb goes down in 100% of rounds against 53%.
Steps12345

The opening as a prediction

R8
After this opening (7 similar rounds on the map on an eco): the hit goes A in 100% against the map's usual 26%; the bomb goes down in 100% of rounds against 44%; the attack takes the round in 57% against 24%.
R17
After this opening (21 similar rounds on the map on a full buy): the hit goes A in 93% against the map's usual 37%; the bomb goes down in 90% of rounds against 56%; the attack takes the round in 81% against 51%.
R5
After this opening (19 similar rounds on the map on an eco): the hit goes B in 100% against the map's usual 74%; the bomb goes down in 84% of rounds against 44%.

Team habits and markers

roles, setups, signature spots — expand

CT39 rounds · 3 maps

AWP: phzy — 25 of 39 rounds; positions: CT Spawn, A Main
setup 3 A + 2 B — 14 of 39
setup 4 A + 1 Mid — 5 of 39

T25 rounds · 3 maps

AWP: phzy — 13 of 25 rounds; positions: Garage, Vent
setup 5 Mid — 16 of 25
setup 1 B + 4 Mid — 4 of 25
HooXi moved into Middle — 2 times, around 0:23; the AWPer in these rounds held Garage
ryu moved into Middle — 2 times, around 0:23; the AWPer in these rounds held Garage

Ninjas in Pyjamas

CT24 rounds · 3 maps

AWP: stavn — 7 of 24 rounds; positions: B Site, A Main
setup 3 A + 2 B — 8 of 24
setup 4 A + 1 B — 5 of 24

T36 rounds · 3 maps

AWP: stavn — 9 of 36 rounds; positions: Garage, Outside A
setup 5 Mid — 14 of 35
setup 1 B + 4 Mid — 8 of 35
xKacpersky moved into Middle — 2 times, around 0:22; the AWPer in these rounds held A Main
Snappi moved into Middle — 1 time, around 0:24

Marks show the 20-second position, “×N” a signature spot.

Map numbers

Team and side	Rounds	Opening duels won	Conversion	Median	Trades	Main utility zone
Astralis T	6/8	4	75%	0:17	14%	A Site · 22
Astralis CT	7/12	7	86%	0:39	27%	Middle · 28
Ninjas in Pyjamas T	5/12	5	80%	0:33	19%	A Main · 23
Ninjas in Pyjamas CT	2/8	4	25%	0:40	21%	Middle · 15

Conversion — rounds won after winning the opening duel; trades — deaths avenged within five seconds.

Pistol rounds

R1 — Astralis (CT)
R13 — Astralis (T)

Streaks

Astralis — 5 rounds in a row (R1–R5)
Ninjas in Pyjamas — 4 rounds in a row (R8–R11)
Astralis — 3 rounds in a row (R12–R14)
Astralis — 3 rounds in a row (R16–R18)

Rounds thrown away

R5 — T lost the round holding a 97% chance
R8 — CT lost the round holding a 74% chance
R6 — CT lost the round holding a 74% chance
R13 — CT lost the round holding a 74% chance

Broken economy

R8 — Astralis lost a full buy against an eco
R20 — Ninjas in Pyjamas lost a full buy against a force buy

Bottom line

Astralis won Cache through a familiar CT utility setup, both pistol rounds, and the ability to immediately restore parity after early deaths on T side. Ninjas in Pyjamas found effective openings on both sides, but their defense converted only 25% of those rounds, while weak support on B Site and Truck made the advantage too fragile.