aiM qualifies for the last ESL Impact LAN Finals without dropping a map

NIP have qualified for the ESL Impact Season 8 Finals in Stockholm after they topped their group in the European regular season without dropping a single map across the five games.

This marks the final opportunity that Mia “aiM” Cooper and NIP Impact have to win an Impact LAN trophy, as ESL announced this would be the final ESL Impact season. It is all to play for in Sweden.

NIP Impact has been ageing like fine wine, as each season they have exhibited very clear progression both in Europe and on the international stage. Especially since veteran IGL Ksenia “vilga” Kluenkova joined their ranks, they have been going from strength to strength.

In vilga‘s inaugural season for NIP, the organisation made their first ESL Impact Finals in Season 6, the next season they qualified for the playoffs in the Dallas Finals, and now, in Season 8, only the trophy will suffice.

NIP qualifying for playoffs in the Season 7 Finals made history, as aiM became the first UK CS player to qualify for an ESL Impact playoffs. Despite a loss to Supernova Comets in the semi-finals, that “only gave NIP more motivation for Season 8”

aiM makes UK CS history at ESL Impact Season 7 Finals

Heading into ESL Impact Season 8, NIP have made multiple changes. They upgraded their AWPer, replacing Anna “ramziiN” Ramsing with Ana “Zana” Queiroz, and added a new coach, Jesper “TENZKI” Plougmann, after their previous coach, Niels “NaToSaphiX” Christian Sillassen, joined the new Falcons Academy project.

The change in AWPer saw an increase in firepower as Zana posted a 1.14 HLTV rating across the regular season. Kiara “Qiyarah” Janssen has been noticeably improving leaps and bounds over the last year, and she has continued that trajectory, finishing as the highest-rated player from Europe, boasting a truly eye-watering 1.41 HLTV rating.

aiM also saw a 0.12 HLTV rating difference from the Season 7 regular season to Season 8, ending as the fourth-highest rated player in the regular season. With everyone firing on all cylinders, this level of firepower will be a challenge for other teams to contend with in Stockholm.

NIP were the first team to qualify for the ESL Impact Finals later this year after they were ruthless in the regular season. Across the ten maps they played and won, the other team only reached double digits in two. The only other side to replicate this dominance was BIG EQUIPA in Group B.

The main surprise this season of ESL Impact in Europe was that the queens of Counter-Strike, Imperial Valkyries, lost in their opening week to Overpeek and barely even qualified for the Finals. It is very evident from the regular season that they are looking weak, which opens the door for a team like NIP.

aiM: “If there is one thing I do in my life, I have to go to an EPIC.LAN”

Europe was not the only region where chaos ensued. Over in South America, the reigning champions of ESL Impact, Furia, who had dethroned Imperial Valkyries in Dallas earlier this year, won’t even be able to defend their crown.

In the second week of gameplay, Furia were felled by Atrix in a shock 2-0 upset. Even though Furia beat MIBR on the final day, it wasn’t enough to salvage their season, and Atrix’s Cinderella run will look to continue in Stockholm as four of the five players set out to compete in their first ESL Impact LAN.

On one hand, Atrix qualifying is a really cool storyline for ESL Impact, but it removes possibly the toughest opponent for NIP.

In an interview with UKCSGO at BLAST Open London Finals, aiM said that “qualifying for the finals is the first step, but we want to win.” She has already achieved the first task; the question is, can they take home the final ESL Impact trophy?

The full team list for ESL Impact Season 8 Finals is as follows:

NIP Impact (Europe)
BIG EQUIPA (Europe)
Imperial Valkyries (Europe)
Overpeek  (Europe)
MIBR fe (South America)
Atrix (South America)
FlyQuest RED (North America)
Shimmer (North America)

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