hypex: “If I had to rate our performance, I’d give it about a six out of ten.”
GamerLegion sniper Milan “hypex” Polovets, in an interview at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, assessed the team’s performance on the opening day of the tournament and spoke about the pressure on the squad following their run to the finals of IEM Atlanta 2026.
On the victory over FlyQuest
We had a rough start. I think they were up 5-1, and then we came back to 6-6. I don’t think that was bad. Then, I think we won the pistol round. Yeah, we won the pistol round. But then... maybe it was nerves, I don’t know. I’m still pretty tired. I didn’t sleep very well. I know REZ was really tired too; he had a headache. But he played amazingly, and I’m glad about that. Anyway, yeah, the game was a bit of a struggle, but I’m happy.
On evaluating GamerLegion’s performance on the first day
If I had to rate our game, I’d give it about a six out of ten. Yeah, there are a lot of things we need to improve. But I’m glad we’re switching to best-of-3s now, and I think we’ll look better as we go from match to match.
On reaching the IEM Atlanta 2026 finals
We didn’t expect to make it to the finals this quickly at all. It was incredible. But we’re still working hard. We realize this could just be a lucky streak. That’s why we want to improve our play match by match. We’re focusing on each upcoming game. The main thing is to stay consistent. <...> We don’t want this to create extra pressure. We know what we’re capable of. We know we played well. We know the kind of performance we can deliver. We’re here precisely to demonstrate that. But we’re starting with the first stage, and there’s still a long way to go.
On Snax’s role on the team
If he doesn’t like something, he speaks up right away. He never says it with malice or rudeness. He just wants to fix the problem so it doesn’t happen again. After that, we just keep playing. I know he always wants only the best for the team.
Right now, GamerLegion is in the 2-1 bracket of the first stage of the IEM Cologne Major 2026. Today, Milan “hypex” Polovets’ team will face BIG in a match to advance to the second stage of the tournament—the match starts at 5:30 p.m. Moscow time.
Photo — PGL.
Daniil Korzhuev
