G2 Esports not attending Rio Major after being eliminated by GamerLegion

William Davis Published 07/10/2022

G2 Esports fans may not be quite as excited for the Rio Major now that their favorite squad has dropped the ball.

After a shock upset from GamerLegion, G2 Esports will not attend the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Rio Major. The decisive match was originally expected to be an easy win for G2 but the German side came back from a 3-16 loss on map one to win it all.

G2 Esports entered the European RMR as clear favorites. The international squad brought momentum from a podium finish at ESL Pro League 16, and the addition of the game’s biggest gigachad couldn’t seem to hurt. G2 even started its RMR run with a 16-0 shutout over Ecstatic, further cementing it as a favorite.

Map one, Vertigo, went exactly as fans expected with G2 only dropping 3 rounds on T side and cleaning up after a victorious pistol round. However, G2 was in for a complete shock in the rest of the series.

G2 Esports upset by GamerLegion, to miss Rio Major

Map two was GamerLegion’s pick, Mirage. While usually a bog-standard map in competitive CSGO, something about GamerLegion’s T side completely flummoxed G2 captain Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen. Even with winning pistol and two crucial buy rounds, G2 failed to get more than four rounds before the switch.

From there, the match perfectly mirrored map one with a won pistol leading to game over. GamerLegion had evened the score against a top-five ranked team.

Map three was the only real contest of the match. The first half of Inferno ended 7:8 in GamerLegion’s slight favor. The second half was equally rocky with won eco and blundered rifle buys from both sides. Eventually at 15:12, GamerLegion planted the final bomb of G2’s RMR run. Clever play from Ivan “iM” Mihai and a legged AWP shot sealed the deal.

Missing out on a CSGO Major is terrible for any player, but for G2 Esports, it’s a particularly harrowing result. This will be the first major without G2 since ESL One: Cologne in 2015, ending a seven-year streak of perfect attendance. The sponsor has repeatedly stated its intention to build a world-class team capable of winning major championships.

While the current G2 Esports CSGO roster is the most stable its been in years, there could be some snap-decision roster changes in the near future.

Read Also

Counter-Strike

BLAST Bounty 2026 semi-final predictions: who’s making it to the grand final? Owen Harsono The top four teams we’re seeing at the BLAST Bounty 2026 semi-finals are far from what anyone would expect before the tournament began, but here we are. We’re only three matches from crowning a winner, so let’s take a look at the best BLAST Bounty semi-final predictions for both upcoming matchups. Starting the semi-finals off is a banger of a series between FaZe Clan and Team Spirit, which is one ...

Counter-Strike

We Ranked The Top 5 Most Hated CS2 Maps Owen Harsono If you’re a Counter-Strike player, you probably have that one map you always ban first in every Premier game — and you're not alone as almost everyone has one too. Below, we’ll take a look at the most hated maps in Counter-Strike history and explain why they are disliked by the community at large. Anubis is one of the newer releases in the Counter-Strike 2 map pool, but it has ...

Counter-Strike

The Top 10 Best Clutches in Counter-Strike History Ranked Owen Harsono Pulling off an impossible clutch is one of the greatest hits of dopamine any Counter-Strike 2 player can ever feel. However, pulling them off at the highest level can be a little tricky since everyone is so coordinated. That’s exactly why mind-blowing clutches are remembered forever. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at the 10 best clutches in Counter-Strike history. We’re opening the list with former mousesports ...

Counter-Strike

Is the CS2 Esports Nations Cup Going To Be a Huge Disappointment? Owen Harsono The Esports World Cup recently rolled out a new tournament series called the Esports Nations Cup, where participants can only compete under their country’s flag — just like the FIFA World Cup. 2026 is going to be the first time the Esports Nations Cup plays out, and though there was a lot of hype surrounding it, there are concerns it might fall short of expectations. The qualifiers for the CS2 ...

Esports Betting

Here’s the complete Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 schedule Hannan Mundia The Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 has finally arrived, and here’s the complete schedule for the event to ensure you don’t miss anything. While it isn’t exactly the newest name in the esports scene, the EWC has quickly become a leading event for esports fans worldwide. It brings together professional players and fans from various games, combining them into one long event that everyone can enjoy. 2026’s Esports World Cup ...

Counter-Strike

XSE Pro League 2026 in China: Teams, format and prize pool Owen Harsono Counter-Strike is back after the IEM Cologne Major, as the XSE Pro League 2026 is the first notable event since then. 16 teams book flights to China to compete in the million-dollar event. Here’s everything you need to know about the XSE Pro League 2026 event. Top-tier Counter-Strike returns to the passionate grounds of China, as the event will take place in the city of Guangzhou. Teams will play in ...

Esports Betting

Will Valve add Cache in the CS2 Premier Season 5 Active Duty map pool? Wasif Ahmed Following the highly anticipated return of Cache to Counter-Strike 2 earlier this season, the competitive community has almost started believing that the legendary industrial map would soon make its way into the Active Duty map pool for Premier Season 5. This expectation followed a pattern set by Train, which Valve brought back late last year before quickly pushing it into the main professional tournament rotation. However, in a recent Twitter ...