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Both teams secured opening wins in the Legends Stage and ???? ?????? ??????? ????????will now do battle in the next round.

The first matches of the BLAST Paris Major concluded with the big-name teams securing wins, Natus Vincere taking down GamerLegion 16-10 on Mirage whilst Liquid dispatched of 9INE 16-9 on Overpass.

Natus Vincere have come into the Major in solid form, having taking top-four at ESL Pro League and IEM Rio either side of a powerful showing at the RMR. They still had to deal with some shaky moments against GamerLegion, with those moments often brought on by uncharacteristic mistakes, but ultimately a vital clutch from Ilya "?Perfecto?" Zalutskiy allowed them to get the map over the line without too much fuss.

Perfecto was key in hauling NAVI over the line against GamerLegion

Liquid meanwhile had a very unconvincing showing in the Challengers Stage, having to come back from 0-2 down and benefitting from a very favorable run in the process. 9INE may well have been the favorites based on recent form but the North Americans proved too hot to handle, particularly Keith "?NAF?" Markovic, who posted 112 ADR on the way to a 1.63 rating.

These results mean that Natus Vincere will do battle with Liquid in the next round of play, as they are guaranteed to be the highest and lowest-seeded team, respectively, in the 1-0 pool. The two squads have already faced off once this year at IEM Katowice, and there it was the Ukrainian-majority side that secured a 2-0 victory. Considering this in combination with the more recent form of the two, and it is Natus Vincere who will be heavily favored in that matchup.

Group Legends Stage 1W - 0L

Liquid