GamerLegion upset Heroic en route to Paris Major final as iM continues charge towards MVP

The European combine's Cinderella run continues with their win over Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller and company.

GamerLegion are through to the BLAST.tv Paris Major title decider after besting Heroic in a hard-fought three-map series.

The Danes struck first on Ancient after a strong comeback, but were unable to convert their Inferno pick after a full-length 30-round affair, with GamerLegion running rampant on the Mirage decider (16-6) to get the job done and progress to the final hurdle in Paris.

Date	Matches
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
21/05/2023	GamerLegion 17:00 Vitality	Match

Mihai "⁠iM⁠" Ivan was once again a massive performer for his team, now averaging an tournament-leading 1.44 rating across the Legends and Champions stages, continuing his charge towards candidacy for the MVP.

The European outfit will undoubtedly be looking to keep their strong form going in Paris as they move forward to the last game of the Major in France. Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek and company will lock horns with the winner of the series between Apeks and Vitality on Sunday at 17:00 for a chance to cap off their fairy tale campaign and pick up the Major trophy and the $500,000 cash prize.

GamerLegion enjoyed a hot start to their semi-final bout versus the Danes, cruising to a 10-5 lead on their Ancient pick after a strong T-side performance from Frederik "⁠acoR⁠" Gyldstrand, Isak "⁠isak⁠" Fahlén, and iM. This lopsided scoreline was unable to be the buffer the European roster needed to clinch victory, however, as the Danes went on a miraculous comeback, conceding just three rounds in the second half to steal the map, 16-13.

GamerLegion were quick to bounce back once Inferno rolled around, however, as the siuhy-led lineup put up a stellar eight-round spree to sport a comfortable 9-6 lead at the break. Heroic were able to put up stubborn resistance once on the CT-side, but in the end it all came down to isak, who clutched a must-win 1vs2 clutch to prevent an overtime affair and tie the series up, 16-14.

The hard-fought nature of the semi-final quickly dissipated once Mirage, the decider, came around. iM, who was the joint-highest-rated player of the Legends and Champions Stages heading into the match, continued to put on a show, leading the way with 15 frags to earn his side a 10-5 scoreline at the break. From there, it was only a quad kill from Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard that came through on the Heroic side, the Danes otherwise outclassed as GamerLegion closed the map out, 16-6, and sent them packing with a 2-1 scoreline.

cadiaN and company will undoubtedly be disappointed with the loss; the Danes were one of the pre-tournament favorites, and many had expected them to stomp their way to back-to-back Major grand finals, previously reaching the title decider of the IEM Rio Major in November.

"I think they played super well. Kudos to them," cadiaN began in a post-match interview on stream, one that was continuously interrupted by a raucous applaud coming from the crowd. "There's no denying that they've had an unbelievable run... but today they took down one of the big dogs. Nothing but respect for that.

"I was hoping that we could make the comeback. I was telling the boys that it was still possible, it was the same scoreline as the first half of Ancient. But yeah, too many mistakes; just not on point.

"Thank you everyone in Paris for showing up," cadiaN said to a standing ovation. "For me, like I said in the speech, it started more than 10 years ago, bringing my own PC to Sweden... what can I say? Counter-Strike has changed my life, [I wouldn't be the person] I am without it."