- The mixed European team did so by winning a 2-0 match against Apeks
- Apeks were not able to win double digits in either of the two maps
- They are now on a collision course against NiP to stay alive in the tournament
GamerLegion dominated Apeks on Ancient and Overpass to secure a coveted spot in the Champions Stage of the BLAST Premier Paris Major
GamerLegion Defeated Apeks
Most of the participants in the final part of the BLAST Premier Paris Major have been decided, with GamerLegion being the last to secure a berth for the Challengers Stage of the tournament. The Mixed European team did so after defeating Ninjas in Pyjamas in a relatively easy 2-0 match. “I have no words, I cannot speak English,” Mihai “iM” Ivan said in a post-match interview on stream with James “BanKs” Banks.
Thanks to this victory, GamerLegion have more than bested their previous showing at the IEM Rio Major back in November. Back then, the team failed to make it past the Challengers Stage in their debut Major in Brazil. It seems, however, that the players spend the last six months training hard, as the team went on a 3-1 run through the Legends Stage en route to a spot in the playoffs. They suffered a defeat to Natus Vincere but managed to recover by winning against 9INE and fnatic.
GamerLegion now send Apeks in the 2-2 pool, where the latter will have to play in a do-or-die matchup versus Ninjas in Pyjamas on Tuesday for a chance to continue to the Challengers stage. It remains to see how they will perform, as judging by the one-sided encounter they had with GamerLegion, Apeks’ prospects don’t look great.
Speaking of the one-sided nature of the match, GamerLegion took the early lead on the first map, Ancient racing to a 10-5 lead by the end of their CT-side effort. This success was due in large part to a 1.74-rated performance from Frederik “acoR” Gyldstrand.
Apeks managed to respond with just one round in the second half, basically giving away the map, and allowing GamerLegion to secure Ancient with a dominating 16-6 result. To add insult to injury, Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek, captain of GamerLegion, ended the map with a knife between Martin “STYKO” Styk's shoulder blades.
Apeks didn’t fare much better on the second map, Overpass, as a series of rampant attacks from GamerLegion’s T-side allowed the latter to win the first half again with a 10-5 lead. When the sides switched, Apeks showed one last attempt at overturning the game with Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski's troops' three-round spree. However, the North Macedonian’s efforts were en vain as GamerLegion responded with six rounds of their own to secure Overpass 16-9 and end the match 2-0.
GamerLegion now continue to the Champions Stage of the BLAST Paris Major, while Apeks are relegated to a do-or-die match against NiP in the 2-2 pool.
