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GamingGamerLegion Crash Out of Budapest Major After 100 Thieves Links
After a number of poor performances, GamerLegion have been eliminated from Stage 1 of the StarLadder Budapest Major with a 1-3 record – just weeks after reports linking the players with a move to 100 Thieves.
The European team lost to Fluxo, Red Canids, and PARIVISON. Their sole victory came against the Chinese team Rare Atom in the 0-2 bracket.
With the poor run of form that preceded the Major running into the competition, questions will now be asked as to whether they are the right core for 100 Thieves to sign. The NA organization has already signed Havard “rain” Nygaard as their IGL, and are looking for a core that will secure them a solid VRS placement ahead of their return to competitive action in 2026.
GamerLegion’s failure in Budapest, as well as their poor run of form in the events leading up to the Major, means that their VRS placement has taken a hit. Ranked as highly as eighth back in June, the team now finds themselves in 20th and likely to slip further once adjustments have been made following the culmination of the Major.
That slip places them outside the invitation range for most tournaments, meaning that any core of the team would have to rely on performances in smaller events or for bigger teams to decline invitations in order to climb again.
What Went Wrong in Budapest?
GamerLegion’s form in the run up to the Major wasn’t strong, but they were still expected to get out of what is a relatively weak field within the first Stage.
Losses to Fluxo and Red Canids weren’t just unexpected, they were unacceptable for a team that was, a year ago, a team close to becoming a consistent playoff contender. This is even more evident when examining the rank disparity between the teams.
T sides were particularly a problem for GamerLegion throughout the event; they recorded just four T side round wins in those first two losses. Those woes continued against PARIVISION, too, where GamerLegion capitulated on the T side of Overpass after recording a solid 9-3 CT half against the Dzhami “Jame” Ali-lead side.
Given that GamerLegion IGL Erik “ztr” Gustafsson’s Major sticker reads “zeroTrounds,” it’s not exactly a good look, either.
The primary reason why GamerLegion struggled in Budapest, however, is that their stars failed to appear. Sebastian “Tauson” Lindelof fell from a 1.11 rating in the past three months to 0.92, whilst Fredrik “REZ” Sterner also struggled as he slumped to a 0.98 rating. There was a bright spot in Oldrich “PR” Novy’s 1.16 rating, but that was overshadowed by the team’s new AWPer, Milan “hypex” Polowiec continued poor form.
To make matters worse, the team was then trolled by one of their former AWPers, Henrich “sl3nd” Hevesi, on Twitter. Sl3nd was the first of three AWPers to struggle in the GamerLegion jersey alongside hypex and Jeremy “Kursy” Gast, leading analysts to now question whether it’s a problem within the system that Ztr and coach Ashley “ash” Battye are building.
Who Else Could 100 Thieves Sign?
With the value of GamerLegion’s core now in question, 100 Thieves’ Counter-Strike leaders might look elsewhere in order to place themselves at big events immediately in 2026.
An obvious option to do so would be the HEROIC core, who sit six places higher than GamerLegion in 14th. However, with the team reportedly looking to move on from Simon “yxngster” Boije, Linus “LNZ” Holtang already benched, and AWPer Alimzhan “Alkaren” Bitimbay set to soon return to Spirit Academy once his loan expires, this seems unlikely.
Therefore, the most suitable option may be found within the NA scene. NA/German mix team M80 have been in impressive form during the Major, and also showed that they can make big event playoffs earlier in the year at BLAST Open London.
Unlike GamerLegion, M80 also have an AWPer that 100 Thieves would want to sign in Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich. The team also features Mason “Lake” Sanderson, a genuine star who rain could look to build his team around.
With a pre-existing NA core, signing players from M80 could also be a smart move for 100 Thieves in order to establish themselves at Majors again. The European region is far more competitive, so by signing M80’s three North Americans they could almost guarantee their participation in the IEM Cologne Major in June.
