GamerLegion upset FaZe in BLAST Spring Groups opener

The No. 2 team in the world ranking has been dropped down to the lower bracket.

GamerLegion could not wish for a better start at the BLAST Premier Spring Groups as they upset the second-best team in the world in their opening series in Group B. The squad led by Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski — first-timers as one of the new expansion teams entering BLAST Premier — were billed as one of the weaker teams entering the tournament, but have proved they are not to be underestimated.

Snax’s output on top of his leadership, along with Sebastian "⁠volt⁠" Maloș’s Player of the Match performance, are making GamerLegion not miss the losses of Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek and Mihai "⁠iM⁠" Ivan after the team was plundered by bigger fish during the second half of 2023 following their run at the BLAST.tv Paris Major.

GamerLegion came out swinging and didn’t lose a single player in the first three rounds of Overpass, a map they dominated early but lost steam on quickly as FaZe took the lead at the half. Down 5-9, GamerLegion put up a wall on the CT side and won eight out of ten rounds to secure their pick in the final round of regulation.

FaZe went to their pick with hopes of sending the series to a decider, but two even 6-6 sides ended up with the map going to extra rounds. The international super team tried to pull a rabbit out of a hat after bringing it back from two match points in classic FaZe style, but ran out of steam in overtime as volt shut the B site down on match point.

FaZe, the early CS2 dominating force and back-to-back runners-up at the final two events of 2023, have started the new year on a slow foot, and not even their usual late-game antics could save them from a trip to the lower bracket in Copenhagen, where they now await the loser of the Liquid vs. Spirit series.

David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský, the newcomer and much lauded player during the award season, had an off day, ending at the bottom of the scoreboard next to Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen with a 0.89 rating.

The Slovakian rifler, who showed he could slot well into the team at the BLAST Premier World Final in 2023, will hope to have a better showing when he and his teammates fight against elimination on Thursday.