Luminosity Gaming have booked their spot in the grand final of the ESL Pro League Season 3 Finals after seing off Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-1 (16-4 on Overpass, 8-16 on Dust2 and 16-10 on Cobblestone).

The series began on Overpass, Luminosity's map pick, and it was a complete blowout as Luminosity were in control from the get-go: a flying start from the Brazilians on the CT side saw them get out to a quick 6-0 lead, prompting NiP to call a tactical pause to discuss their strategy.

After the timeout, NiP finally managed to get some breathing room by picking up a couple of rounds, but every win from them was quickly countered by Luminosity, whose crushing economic control powered them to take a commanding 13-2 lead at half-time.

The second half began with NiP taking the pistol round after some great defensive work in B, with the Swedes following it up with an anti-eco round. But once Luminosity got their economy stabilised the momentum shifted back in their favor as they won three rounds straight en route to a 16-4 finish.



Luminosity were all over the place on Overpass

Next up was Dust2, where NiP took an early lead on the defensive side after winning a 3vs3 retake in the pistol round. A third-round buy from Luminosity did not work out, further setting them back on economic terms.

The scoreline bloomed to a 5-0 advantage in favour of NiP, but their winning streak came to an end after that as the Brazilians picked up back-to-back rounds. However, NiP were not going to let a comeback happen and went on another run to bring the scoreline to 10-2 before Luminosity picked up the final three rounds thanks to some great AWP shots from Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo and Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David.

NiP further grew their lead in the second half by taking the pistol round, courtesy of a sensational 1vs3 clutch from Richard "⁠Xizt⁠" Landström on 12 hp, and the corresponding anti-ecos to make it 13-5. Luminosity kept themselves in the game by winning the first three full gun rounds, but a miraculous comeback was not on the cards as NiP locked down the map 16-8.



Xizt's 1vs3 clutch was a hard blow for the Brazilians

The decider map was Cobblestone, where a great start from Luminosity saw them win each of the first five rounds on the Terrorist side. NiP then picked themselves up and strung four rounds together to get inches away from their opponents, but then Luminosity went on another great run to close out the half with a 10-5 lead.

Now playing on the CT side, Luminosity made light work of NiP, winning five rounds in a row to reach match point. Jacob "⁠pyth⁠" Mourujärvi took matters into his own hands and kept NiP in the game with an ace.

The Ninjas refused to throw in the towel in the chase for overtime and picked up several rounds in a row to force a tactical pause out of Luminosity. After adjusting their defense, the Brazilian team finally got their 16th round of the board, sealing passage to the grand final of the event, in which they will take on either fnatic or G2.