GamerLegion has claimed the final berth for the Shanghai Major from the first European RMR group after an intense 2-1 victory against BetBoom in the seventh-place decider. This success caps off an incredible turnaround, with the team recovering from a 0-2 start to finish 4-2, earning their spot in the Major’s Opening Stage. Along the way, GamerLegion secured narrow victories against UNiTY, Falcons, and SINNERS, showcasing their resilience under pressure.
The roster boasts four players set to make their Major debut: Timur “FL4MUS” Marev, Henrich “sl3nd” Hevesi, Sebastian “Tauson” Lindelof, and Erik “ztr” Gustafsson, a testament to the team’s impressive talent acquisition. Reflecting on the achievement, ztr expressed his elation, stating that reaching his first Major meant everything to him and crediting the squad’s mentality and energy for their success after a difficult start to the tournament.
For BetBoom, the loss marks a crushing conclusion to their Major aspirations. This defeat continues a streak of near misses for in-game leader Vladislav “nafany” Gorshkov, who came within a single series victory of qualifying for both the PGL Major Copenhagen earlier this year and the BLAST.tv Paris Major last year with Cloud9.
The deciding series began with BetBoom taking Ancient, overcoming an 11-5 deficit as GamerLegion faltered with risky CT-side decisions and failed to close out key rounds. However, GamerLegion rebounded strongly on Nuke, delivering a dominant performance to level the series. The final map, Mirage, proved to be a nail-biter. Aleksandr “zorte” Zagodyrenko’s stellar 19-kill first half kept BetBoom in contention, but FL4MUS’ aggressive plays secured two pivotal late rounds, tipping the balance in GamerLegion’s favor.
This hard-fought victory not only seals GamerLegion’s Major spot but also underlines the potential of their young roster, as they prepare to compete on Counter-Strike’s grandest stage.
