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While many thought that IEM Oakland would be SK Gamings time to get back in the spotlight, Ninjas in Pyjamas shocked the world with a big win in the grand finals. Greg Olsen Jersey .Despite their struggles lately, Ninjas in Pyjamas showed they are very much alive in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competitive scene with the IEM win, picking up a cool $128,000 for their troubles. Meanwhile the loss Sunday marks the second time in as many tournaments that SK have fallen just short. While they may be earning finals appearances, its clear SK Gaming have some work to do if it hopes to regain its swagger from last year, when they dominated the competitive scene.SK takes down AstralisSK Gaming and Astralis opened up the final day of IEM Oakland with fireworks, as the two teams battled it out for a spot in the grand finals. SK got off to a quick 5-0 lead before faltering quite a bit into the second half. Astralis surged all the way to a 14-9 lead before SK finally found its groove once again. Fernando fer Alvarenga was a big part of that comeback, going 12/2 in the final seven rounds that SK won to take the first map 16-14. With the win, SK are now an outstanding 26-2 on Train in LAN matches. SKs unbelievable amount of success on Train may force opposing teams to ban the map immediately if they hope to have any easier shot at winning a respective series.The series transitioned to Mirage -- Astralis pick for the series -- for the second game, and it was just as closely contested as Game 1. SK once again got off to a quick lead, this time 4-0, before going into the half up 11-4. The Brazilian squad wasnt able to pull away once the second half started, though. Astralis made it interesting, rallying back to within one round, staring at a 13-12 deficit. From there, SK stabilized and won three straight rounds to take the series. It was Epitacio TACO de Melos big 1 vs. 2 clutch to win the final round that propelled SK to the grand finals to face Ninjas in Pyjamas.Ninjas in Pyjamas take down FaZe ClanThis hotly contested series started off with Ninjas in Pyjamas map pick of Nuke, which would have made you think that they would take the series pretty easily. That couldnt have been further from the truth. While they did get off to a great start with a 10-5 lead at the half, their CT-side faltered in a big way as FaZe forced overtime. Patrik f0rest Lindberg came up big for the pajama-clad ninjas in overtime, going 6/0 in the four consecutive round wins to take the first map by a score of 19-15.While the Ninjas seemed to struggle a bit on its map choice in Game 1, FaZe Clan made sure to dominate while on its pick of Train in Game 2. It also took a 10-5 lead into the half, but managed to hold on in a big way to easily wrap up the 16-6 win and force a decisive Game 3. While Game 3 didnt go into overtime, the final match in the series was just as close as the first. Ninjas in Pyjamas took a 9-6 lead into the half before the teams both won seven rounds in the second half. Thankfully for Ninjas, that halftime lead proved to be the difference and netted them a 16-13 win that put them on a collision course to meet SK in the grand finals of IEM Oakland.Ninjas in Pyjamas upset SK GamingRight from the start, Ninjas in Pyjamas made a curious decision opting to allow SK Gaming to select the map Train for Game 1, especially given their success on the map as of late (26-2 in LAN matches on the map). This odd move inevitably led to SK gaining a quick 1-0 lead after taking Game 1 by a score of 16-4. Lincoln fnx Lau led the way with his 18/11 KD and 106.4 ADR as SK improved to 27-2 on Train at LAN events.Despite all of SKs success on Train in Game 1, it all came crashing down in Game 2 on Ninjas pick of Cache. SK didnt go away quietly, though. The Swedish squad got out to a 12-5 lead before SK came roaring back, nearly forcing overtime. Waiting with bated breath to shut the door on SKs comeback was none other than f0rest, who dropped 30 kills on SK to take the map 16-14 and send the grand finals to a Game 3.In a somewhat surprising result, with the game on the line, it was Ninjas in Pyjamas who would come out on top. They took a big 10-5 lead into the half, but SK once again came back to make things interesting. The Brazilian juggernauts would actually take a 13-11 lead before the Ninjas would band together to win five of the next six rounds and take the IEM title home. Adam friberg Friberg may have been at the bottom of the scoreboard for Ninjas in Pyjamas overall in the series, but he came to play during Game 3 with a 27/21 KD and 94.8 ADR. Christian Miller Youth Jersey . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Sam Mills Panthers Jersey . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. http:///...jackson-blue-jersey/ . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. MINNEAPOLIS -- Candace Parker and the Sparks jumped with joy on the court, joined in celebration by a guy named Magic Johnson who once made basketball championships a habit in Los Angeles.Parkers old college coach, the late Pat Summitt, was there in spirit, too.Nneka Ogwumikes short jumper with 3.1 seconds left, off the rebound of her blocked shot, gave the Sparks a 77-76 victory over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in the deciding Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night for the franchises first title in 14 years.Parker had 28 points and 12 rebounds to earn MVP honors of the Finals and her first WNBA title, capping a trying year marked by the death of the beloved Summitt, with whom she won two NCAA championships at Tennessee. Parker also was left off the U.S. Olympic team after helping them to a gold medal in the previous two Games.The journey to get here, I wouldnt have wanted to do it with anybody else, Parker said. Its amazing, when you surround yourself with good people, how fun it is.Sparks coach Brian Agler started his postgame news conference by playing a recording of the Tennessee fight song, Rocky Top, from a phone in front of him at the podium. Parker cried as she leaned over to hug her coach.Ive never been around somebody that has been critiqued so hard, Agler said, and Ive never been around anyone Im happy for than Candace.Said Ogwumike: Shes been through so much. Shes probably the most misunderstood person in the league. I told her I wanted her to get one.Parker said she heard Summitts voice in her head, recalling the time-worn advice to focus on defense and rebounding.You cant control if shots go in or shots dont, but what you can control is defense and rebounding, Parker said.Rebekkah Brunson made one of two free throws with 23.4 seconds left to give the Lynx a 74-73 lead. Parker answered with a layup on the other end that Maya Moore countered with a jumper. Then Ogwumike hustled her way over to the loose ball after Sylvia Fowles blocked her first attempt. She coolly swished it.Lindsay Whalens heave from just inside halfcourt bounced high off the backboard, setting off the celebration for the Sparks and silencing the sellout crowd of 19,423.Moore had 23 points and 11 assists for the Lynx, who fell short of matching the WNBA record of four championships. The Houston Comets won four straight titles from 1997-2000. The Lynx played in the finals for the fifth time in the last six years. They won three.The team that won this game deserved to win the game, Moore said, so its just hard to have it come that close.Chelsea Gray reeled off 11 consecutive points for the Sparks, capping that ruun with a smooth up-and-under layup to put them in front 60-59 early in the fourth quarter. Donte Jackson Panthers Jersey. Parkers putback with 3:06 left gave L.A. a 71-63 lead.But Moore seized the moment with a 3-pointer that brought Minnesota within four points, and Parker forced an off-balance 3 on the other end. Whalen stole the ball from Kristi Toliver and finished the fast break with a layup to tie the game at 71, setting up the final flurry.On the next play, Ogwumike hit a jumper that appeared to come after the shot clock expired. The officials signaled for a review but never looked at the basket. Los Angeles led 73-71 with just over a minute left. Seimone Augustus answered with a jumper, but those points proved to be critical.Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, making sure to credit the Sparks for their performance, was livid about the non-call afterward.Its not enough just to apologize and send out a memo that they got something wrong, OK? These players are so invested, and something must be done about the officiating in this league. Because it is not fair to these great players that we have, Reeve said.The WNBAs new postseason seeding format based on overall record regardless of conference worked well, leading to this classic matchup between the two teams that fought all summer for the top seed and featuring several of the leagues biggest stars.I hope that we gained a lot of fans from around the world and around this country, Augustus said.The game was remarkably close, with 24 lead changes, 11 ties and no team ever leading by double digits.CHAMPIONSHIP ATMOSPHEREThe sea of green T-shirts donned by almost everyone in the crowd produced a deafening soundtrack from start to finish, befitting a game for the WNBA trophy.Johnson, a part-owner of the Sparks, wore all black while sitting courtside to root for his team. The Hall of Famer gave the players a pep talk after their loss at home in Game 4 on Sunday. His presence was all the more impressive considering the Dodgers, the other pro club hes invested in, also played Thursday night in Los Angeles in Game 5 of their National League championship series.They had to believe they could do it on a tough home court. This team Minnesota is tremendous, Johnson said. We just beat the champions, so I give them a lot of credit, too.WOLF TRACKSThe Lynx had celebrity backing, too. Timberwolves players at the game included Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Cole Aldrich and Nemanja Belica.---This story has corrected spelling to Fowles in 11th paragraph. ' ' '