Image source: Vakarm.net via Liquipedia
The Blast Paris Major 2023, the last ever CSGO Major before competitive Counter-Strike transitions to CS2, has been monumental for UK esports.
Not only did UK-based organisation Into the Breach reach the Paris Major playoffs, against all odds, to become the first UK org to do so, but UK coach Ash ‘ash’ Battye (aka ashhh) also broke records by progressing all the way to the grand final with his team, GamerLegion.
They may have fell to Vitality in the final (16-6, 16-13), the same team that also defeated Into the Breach, but to be amongst the two final teams at the Paris Major is of course no mean feat.
It’s easy to get swept up in the Into the Breach hype and forget this achievement along the way, a point UK caster and host Jacky – and others in the community – stressed.
“Amazing effort from the team and the GamerLegion staff for the whole event,” ash said.
“It’s incredible what we’ve achieved but today just wasn’t our day Thanks everyone for all the support, it doesn’t feel real to have so many people cheering you on.
“We will just have to win the next one. Second place at the Major, I’m so proud of everyone but we were too slow to get going. Well deserved for Team Vitality.”
ash used to play for teams such as Xenex and Dog Gaming before transitioning to a coach, for teams including Vexed, London Esports and later GamerLegion.
GamerLegion rise up the rankings after Paris Major run
GamerLegion jumped up to seventh place in the HLTV and ESL rankings today following their impressive performances at the Paris Major.
ash tweeted about the rankings and mentioned that Into the Breach reached 15th.
In other UK CSGO news, the latest version of the ESL UK & Ireland Premiership – the Spring 2023 tournament – is currently ongoing.
Related article: DreamHack Summer 2023 to include $250,000 Fortnite tournament, CS2 Creator Showmatch and new Creator Hub featuring smooya
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
