REZ: Cache’s Return Boosts GamerLegion Confidence

GamerLegion opened BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 1 with a three-map victory over FURIA as the team prepares for the Major in Cologne and a seeding match against Natus Vincere on April 30, according to captain Fredrik “REZ” Sterner.

Sterner described a nervous start on the first map followed by clearer execution on the second and third maps after intensive practice since Stake. He called the win a confidence boost and highlighted the chance to play in an arena as valuable for the squad’s development.

Sterner called the arena experience “a great start” for rookie Hypex and noted that match play on stage will help younger players gain experience in front of a live audience. He pointed to the tournament as an opportunity to test strategies under more visible conditions.

The captain welcomed Cache’s return to the Active Duty map pool and expressed a preference for it over Dust2. He described Cache as a personal favorite, recalling that he won IEM Oakland on the map while with Ninjas in Pyjamas. Sterner noted that only he and teammate Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski had prior strong memories of Cache, and that younger players were asking about basic defaults during practice.

On recent gameplay changes, Sterner criticized the first practice day with the Animgraph update, calling it “horrible,” and said later hotfixes and repetition have made it easier to adjust. He identified altered spray behavior as the main remaining issue:

The only thing that throws me off right now is probably the spray… it feels like when you’re spraying, the bullets are not going the same as before at all.

Sterner declined to comment on recent reports about the organization and emphasized the roster’s internal focus and cohesion. “We’re a unit in this team, we’re all together, we’re like a family, and we focus on our thing,” he said, adding that background noise is treated as secondary to playing Counter-Strike.

GamerLegion faces Natus Vincere in the group-stage upper-bracket final for seeding on April 30. Sterner described NaVi as “a very solid and structured team” and framed the match as the first real test for the lineup. He said matching practice performance matters more than the final result: “I don’t care if we win or lose, I just want us to play as we do in practice and go through with everything we worked on and be happy with our performance.”

Sterner recalled the roster’s early-season route through smaller tier-two and tier-three events before earning invitations to larger tournaments. He said the team will use arena time and focused map practice to refine routines ahead of the Major.