GamerLegion annihilated Monte on map two to complete a dominant 2-0 victory.
It was the first time on a big stage for most of these players, and it was a real litmus test. GamerLegion stood tall in front of the Accor Arena - something they'll have to do again tomorrow against one of the best teams in the world.
"To be honest, I feel normal [in front of a crowd]. I see them chanting and stuff like this, but..." iM pauses. "In the beginning there was some stressful moments but then we got used to it and it was just like a normal game."
siuhy sort of disagrees - telling BLAST.tv that "it's a huge advantage" to have the crowd on your side, as they backed Belgian Keoz to the hilt.
Monte picked up just five CT rounds over the two maps as they struggled to contain a swashbuckling offence.
"It feels amazing to just play here. I have no words" said a joyous iM straight after walking off stage.
iM stole the show as he dropped 34 on his first ever stage game.
Feelings don't get much better than that.
"I don't know how many kills I got on Mirage!" he laughed. "I just know that on every peek, I just owned everyone."
No kidding.
isak was noticeably absent for GamerLegion until late in the game, but it didn't really matter when iM was in the form he was, picking up multikill after multikill on both halves of the map to quell a ridiculously impressive BOROS.
The Jordanian powered Monte to eight T rounds as he tore through the GamerLegion defence in Middle time and time again. His raw aggression combined with his flawless headshot aim turned a 3-7 scoreline into an 8-7 one for the Ukrainians.
But Monte couldn't stop GamerLegion's offence, despite an excellent attempt from sdy at a ninja defuse that could have halted the momentum, as iM completely took over the map.
Monte picked up just two rounds on their CT side - GamerLegion romped to a 1-0 lead in the series.
Map two began as map one ended - with Monte powerless to resist a commanding GamerLegion attack. The kill matrix remained largely even across GamerLegion, as they completely demolished Monte tactically and at times, mechanically.
"We were in control of the whole game, I think," said an uber-confident siuhy. "Maybe they just didn't show their A-game today. We did."
It was destructive - and any questions about how GamerLegion would react to being in front of a crowd were swiftly and emphatically answered. Monte, on the other hand, sort of crumbled on map two once the heat rose.
GamerLegion advance to meet Heroic tomorrow, and iM originally told us he had "no words right now" about that match-up, but then said "they are clearly the favourites, but we can surprise. We like being underdogs."
siuhy claims Heroic are "just another opponent for us" which, if the other BO3s at this event are to go off, means it'll be another GamerLegion victory.
Watch out, Heroic.
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