When Fredrik “REZ” Sterner left Ninjas in Pyjamas, the move looked like a natural ending to a long chapter. But for him personally, it marked the beginning of something else – a reset that arrived at the exact moment Counter-Strike was going through its most demanding era yet. The 2025 season is defined by relentless LAN travel, the pressure of VRS points, and, above all, the crucial event that will set the tone for the entire competitive landscape: the StarLadder Budapest Major.
GamerLegion approaches this Major mid-transition: rebuilding their identity, integrating new players, learning from mistakes, and quietly improving. And at the center of that process stands REZ, who has rediscovered a version of himself that the public hasn’t seen in years.
He says his passion for the game never left him; it simply became buried under years of internal instability and constant resets in NIP.
I have always enjoyed playing CS, it’s just that there were a lot of underlying issues in my time in NIP. There was always something happening that disrupted our progress. With me departing from NIP, I think it helped both parties. It helped me a lot mentally, to just start over with a completely different path in my career. I’m happy I made this decision
In GamerLegion, something clicked immediately. The environment gave him room to breathe, to speak, to lead – and he felt himself shift into a different gear entirely.
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I feel like I could take everything that I have learned in my past and implement it and ‘showcase’ it more in GamerLegion than what I could in NIPsomehow. I am a completely different player/person here than what I was in NIP
Coach ash recognized that potential from day one. Their first conversations weren’t about K/D ratios or anchor positions – they were about responsibility and leadership. In a year where every LAN has VRS implications and where every BO1 at the Major can eliminate a team instantly, that leadership becomes crucial.
The big question first of all was obviously the new ‘role’ I would pursue with this team. I would be playing with a lot of younger players and I would be the guy with the most experience, etc. This means that I have to take much more responsibility and share more of my experience with the younger players. I have to take more control and be more vocal than before. This is something that excited me
The 2025 Major season is tailor-made for experienced players who can stabilize their team under pressure, and that’s where REZ’s mental progress plays one of the biggest roles.
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I have worked with a lot of different performance coaches, and during my career I have learned a lot on how to improve my mental and handle tough situations
One of the strongest components of this roster heading into Budapest is his synergy with ztr. Their story began in NIP, but the true version of their partnership has formed here, on a team where expectations are more grounded and roles are clearer.
ztr has grown a lot as a player from when I first met him, I think it’s mostly because of the experience he has gotten throughout the years
GamerLegion’s system today is a mix of structure and freedom – a hybrid that REZ knows well and thrives in. The format of the Budapest Major rewards such flexibility: fast adjustments, mid-round reads, and comfort across map-pool edges.
I have played under both systems in NIP, I think most of the times it’s been structured freedom. And I feel it’s similar in GamerLegion, but only that I have a bit more of a voice than before
The roster itself is built on youthful firepower, and for a Major environment – where momentum and emotion often decide everything – that energy can be invaluable.
It feels very refreshing to have so many young bloods in the team, because they are all in the progress of molding themselves into the player they want to be. It’s fun to see their thought-process and how they view CS
One of those young talents is Milan, the team’s newly added AWPer. The Budapest Major will be his biggest test yet, but REZ already sees flashes of brilliance.
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I really enjoy playing with Milan, he fits in really well outside and inside the game so far. I think the next step right now for him is to figure out how to make himself more comfortable and find his confidence. He is a really flashy player in certain moments and that’s when I think he shines
Before Budapest, the team had one key checkpoint: PGL Masters Bucharest. Their run there brought both a first semifinal together and a painful reminder of their weaknesses – lessons that may prove essential in a BO1-heavy Major.
Overall, I think Bucharest was a good event for us. We reached our first Semi-final together and we saw how good we could be and how bad we could be. I think we learned a lot, specially from the Aurora game. We struggle against these teams, and we are starting to understand why
After a strong first half of the year, GamerLegion dropped in form, and just like many rising teams, they fell victim to expectations. That psychological dip defined much of their summer – and REZ sees it clearly.
I think we started to put too high expectations on ourselves after the first half of the year. We started winning against pretty solid teams and made it to several playoffs, and with that we got a bit too confident, thinking that we should beat everyone. So it starting to hurt us extra much when we lost against teams lower than us
Now everything is focused on a single goal: arriving at the Budapest Major prepared.
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We have a lot of grinding ahead of us until the Major, we are going to bootcamp for 1.5 weeks to be as ready as possible
He doesn’t make any bold predictions. No promises of miracle runs, no loud declarations of intent. His expectations are realistic – and that honesty is part of what makes this version of REZ feel so grounded.
I think we are still in the building phase, we are working a lot on finding our identity still, and making all the players comfortable. Realistically, I think we could make it to another playoff, but since it’s gonna be a lot of BO1s, anything can happen as well. Every team is gonna feel the pressure, so I think the team that handles it the best will make it through
For REZ, this Major is not just another big tournament. It’s the first real checkpoint of his new path – the moment where the work of the past months either crystallizes or collapses. It’s a chance to show the world the version of himself he feels internally: more mature, more vocal, more confident, and finally, unquestionably happy.
GamerLegion enters Budapest without the pressure of favorites – but with something more dangerous: a sense that their best CS is still ahead of them. If that version appears on stage in Hungary, it might mark not only a breakthrough for the team, but a defining moment in REZ’s career rebirth.
