BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR B9INE complete Cinderella run to qualify for Paris Major Legends Stage
The Polish roster put up an unblemished 3-0 record to earn a Legends Stage berth to CS:GO's last-ever Major.
9INE are the seventh team to qualify for the BLAST.tv Paris Major Legends Stage after rounding out a sublime upset-filled campaign through the Europe RMR B LAN in Copenhagen, Denmark.
"We want to play some good Counter-Strike and will take it one game at a time and see how it goes without putting too much pressure on ourselves," Olek "hades" Miskiewicz said in a sit-down with HLTV before the RMR got underway.
With their surprise run now complete, it's fair to say 9INE succeeded in their goals, with the Poles bypassing the opening Challengers Stage altogether and joining the likes of Natus Vincere, HEROIC, and FURIA in guaranteeing a top-16 showing at CS:GO's final Major.
The Polish roster, who were the fourth-lowest-rated side heading into the RMR and ranked just 11th on HLTV's power ranking, picked up laborious victories over G2 (16-14) and BIG (19-15) to be a best-of-three versus Vitality away from earning a Legends Stage berth.
9INE enjoyed a comfortable start to the Major-qualifying series versus Dan "apEX" Madesclaire and company, sitting atop a 9-6 lead by the end of their T-side effort on Vertigo. From there, the Poles continued to lead in the server, adding seven rounds to Vitality's five to convert their pick — a map they now have a 24-3 record on in 2023 — 16-11 and go 1-0 up in the brawl.
The Poles, close to 30 spots below Vitality on the world ranking, kept the Franco-Danish mix honest once Anubis rolled around and held the Bees to a slender one-round at the break. The momentum was firmly in the Wiktor "mynio" Kruk-led roster's favor once they got on the CT-side, however, as they conceded just three extra rounds to march to another 16-11 win and punch their ticket to the BLAST.tv Paris Major Legends Stage.
With their win, 9INE notably become the first Polish roster to attend a Major since Virtus.pro, featuring the likes of Jarosław "pashaBiceps" Jarząbkowski, Paweł "byali" Bieliński, and Filip "NEO" Kubski, went 0-3 at the FACEIT London Major in 2018.
  9INE |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 - 25 | +18 | 76.1 | 81.5% | 1.33 | |
| 44 - 35 | +9 | 89.6 | 74.1% | 1.23 | |
| 39 - 39 | 0 | 76.0 | 74.1% | 1.11 | |
| 31 - 32 | -1 | 64.0 | 70.4% | 1.01 | |
| 31 - 32 | -1 | 64.2 | 74.1% | 0.99 |
 Vitality |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 - 38 | +4 | 82.5 | 74.1% | 1.18 | |
| 45 - 43 | +2 | 93.7 | 64.8% | 1.15 | |
| 33 - 37 | -4 | 70.3 | 57.4% | 0.87 | |
| 23 - 36 | -13 | 57.1 | 57.4% | 0.77 | |
| 19 - 35 | -16 | 46.4 | 57.4% | 0.72 |
All is not lost for Vitality, though, who will now start their preparation for their next matchup of the RMR in the 2-1 pool, with the team around apEX squaring off against BIG for a chance to earn their own Major berth.
The two teams last met on LAN at the PGL Antwerp Major in May 2022, where Vitality sent the Germans packing following a hard-fought three-map affair. Whilst elimination from the current Major cycle isn't yet on the cards, both sides will be eager to qualify for the Major in France's capital at the earliest opportunity to avoid a potentially disastrous fall down to the last chance qualifier.
The current Europe RMR B standings are:
Martin 'STYKO' Styk
Joakim 'jkaem' Myrbostad
Tim 'nawwk' Jonasson
Justinas 'jL' Lekavicius
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski
Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou
Justin 'FaNg' Coakley
Dion 'FASHR' Derksen
Rigon 'rigoN' Gashi
Mihai 'iM' Ivan
Nicolas 'Keoz' Dgus
Adam 'NEOFRAG' Zouhar
Abdul 'degster' Gasanov
Ádám 'torzsi' Torzsás
Gustavo 'Juve' Alexandre
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač
Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis
Simon 'Sico' Williams
Jarosław 'pashaBiceps' Jarząbkowski
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