PR masterclass helps GamerLegion eliminate Astralis from Katowice

GamerLegion are now one win away from the Spodek.

GamerLegion have secured a dominant 2-0 win over Astralis (Nuke 13-7, Mirage 13-7) to stay alive at IEM Katowice and eliminate the Danes from contention.

Just one more win stands between GamerLegion and the Spodek — they will face off against Spirit later on Tuesday.

Date	Matches
IEM Katowice 2025
04/02/2025	GamerLegion 18:45 Spirit	Match

The series began on Nuke, where a back-and-forth first half was followed by a dominant GamerLegion T side. They won six rounds in a row to win 13-7 and take a statement win on their opponent's map pick, and their offensive supremacy continued on Mirage.

Oldřich "⁠PR⁠" Nový continued to frag and carried GamerLegion to a 9-3 half, and while Astralis won the pistol to prolong the inevitable, Erik "⁠ztr⁠" Gustafsson's troops got the job done in another comfortable 13-7 win.

PR deserves huge plaudits for his performance, as the 17-year-old averaged a 1.82 rating across the two maps, and was especially impactful on the T sides (28-8 K-D, 2.26 rating, 135 ADR).

GamerLegion's map pool yet to be tested

The new-look GamerLegion have now played 13 maps across 2025 but have only been tested on Inferno, Nuke, and Mirage, something pointed out by Chad "⁠SPUNJ⁠" Burchill ahead of the series against Astralis.

The Danes weren't the ones to test their map pool further in today's series, meaning GamerLegion once again got to play in a comfortable setting and secure a 2-0 victory.

A match against Spirit is coming later for Ashley "⁠ash⁠" Battye's troops, however, and the Russian squad might give GamerLegion's map pool a much sterner test.

device's return hasn't changed Astralis' fortunes

Despite Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz returning to the server at the start of 2025, Astralis's results remain far from satisfactory. An early exit from BLAST Bounty at the hands of Natus Vincere was followed by an unconvincing Play-In campaign in Katowice, with their only victory in Stage 2 being a hard-fought series against FURIA.

"It's a team we want to and need to be better than," Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller said about the loss to GamerLegion.

"It's hard to evaluate our position because of all the things that happened, we don't have any continuity."

The Danes especially struggled on the CT sides, sporting a 32.4% CT win rate across seven maps of play in the IEM Katowice Stage 2, and cadiaN admitted that is the biggest problem in the Astralis camp at the moment.

"It's about making sure you fulfill your individual responsibility of making sure you make the right decision on CT. We're not fulfilling our roles at all."