Wildcard’s surprising run to the top 16 of the Shanghai Major ended as they fell to GamerLegion, exiting the Elimination Stage with a 0-3 record.

Both teams defied expectations to reach this tournament stage, with neither ranked in the top 30 as recently as August. Despite impressive performances from Wildcard’s four rookies throughout the event, their captain, Peter “⁠stanislaw⁠” Jarguz, acknowledged that nerves played a role in their downfall during this round.

“I didn’t recognize us in the server over the past two days. Better teams outclassed us,” stanislaw admitted during a live stream. He reflected on their loss and added, “I felt the pressure in key moments. On Ancient, we had a 5v3 advantage after two mid-entries—we can’t lose that round, but we did. Losing such advantageous situations shows that pressure got to us. We must learn from this experience and handle pressure better next time.”

GamerLegion, also featuring four rookies, proved more composed under the spotlight. Timur “⁠FL4MUS⁠” Marev continued his standout performances both as a player and as an unofficial host on stage, while Erik “⁠ztr⁠” Gustafsson secured a particularly satisfying win against former teammates Love “⁠phzy⁠” Smidebrant and Tim “⁠susp⁠” Ångström.

The series began on Dust2 after GamerLegion banned Inferno, steering Wildcard away from their most successful map, where they had upset teams like Liquid, 9z, and Virtus.pro. Despite this, Wildcard took a 1-0 lead, with susp delivering a standout performance, finishing 28-13 and 6-0 in opening duels.

Ancient was a far closer contest, with Henrich “⁠sl3nd⁠” Hevesi stepping up for GamerLegion. His key plays included two 1v2 clutches on A and a pivotal four-kill round in a 3v5, punishing phzy’s ill-advised decision to push through Donut smoke. Even after a valiant 1v5 effort by Josh “⁠JBa⁠” Barutt that damaged GamerLegion’s economy, sl3nd turned the tide with a hero AWP round, securing three kills and a 1v1 win. At the same time, his teammates were armed only with pistols.

The decider, Anubis, was dominated by FL4MUS, who posted an astounding 135 ADR and matched susp’s earlier 6-0 record in opening duels, propelling GamerLegion to the 1-2 pool. Having overcome a 0-2 deficit in the RMR, Ashley “⁠ash⁠” Battye’s team is familiar with making comebacks. However, the road ahead promises even stricter competition as their miracle run continues to be tested.