GamerLegion defeat Grayhound in ESL Pro League Season 18 opener

The European combine continues to find success with their new additions.

neaLaN continues to find success with GamerLegion

GamerLegion have advanced to the upper bracket semi-final of Group A in ESL Pro League Season 18 after securing a strong 2-0 victory over Grayhound, easing past the Australian side on their own pick of Anubis before eventually converting a substantial lead on Ancient to clinch victory.

Expectations for GamerLegion have been low, particularly after the team lost Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek and star rifler Mihai "⁠iM⁠" Ivan, but their showing at Gamers8 and IEM Cologne have already proved that they shouldn't be counted out. This win over Grayhound helps add credence to that, but the team will need to maintain their trajectory as they next face Movistar Riders for a spot in the playoffs of ESL Pro League.

Sanzhar "⁠neaLaN⁠" Iskhakov and Sebastian "⁠volt⁠" Maloș were key performers for their team at the start of the series on Anubis, helping to mount a 10-5 lead on the T side of the map and subsequently moving up to match point shortly into the second half before closing things out.

The Kazakhstani in-game leader's rebound in form, both individually and at the helm of GamerLegion, continues to stand out after his tumultuous time on Evil Geniuses.

His strong calling on the T side was a highlight on both maps, with the European combine also establishing a 10-2 lead on Ancient. A stellar individual effort from Declan "⁠Vexite⁠" Portellihelped reduce that deficit toward the end of the half and Grayhound broke GamerLegion's economy after the side swap to further close that gap, but a handful of errors and a disastrous round 29 ended up allowing GamerLegion to clinch victory and end the series in two.

ESL Pro League Season 18Best of 3

Grayhound

Matchpage 0 2 30th August 2023

GamerLegion 9Anubis 16 13Ancient 16

Grayhound	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Declan 'Vexite' PortelliVexite	42 - 40	+2	81.0	1.17
Joshua 'INS' PotterINS	36 - 37	-1	76.5	1.03
Simon 'Sico' WilliamsSico	33 - 40	-7	69.2	0.94
Jay 'Liazz' TregillgasLiazz	29 - 36	-7	70.5	0.88
Alistair 'aliStair' JohnstonaliStair	25 - 36	-11	50.5	0.76

GamerLegion	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Nicolas 'Keoz' DgusKeoz	40 - 35	+5	79.2	1.20
Sebastian 'volt' Maloșvolt	37 - 33	+4	81.6	1.18
Sanzhar 'neaLaN' IskhakovneaLaN	39 - 34	+5	76.9	1.17
Frederik 'acoR' GyldstrandacoR	36 - 31	+5	67.0	1.07
Isak 'isak' Fahlénisak	33 - 33	0	63.6	1.02