arT: Legacy know their level and potential in CS

Legacy defeated Natus Vincere 2-0 at the Esports World Cup on Aug. 21, 2026, to advance to the quarter-finals. The Brazilian squad closed the match on Inferno and Ancient after strong early rounds and clutch plays that built comfortable leads.

Captain Andrei ‘arT’ Piovezan described the veto phase as producing unexpected choices from both teams. He pointed to NAVI’s ban of Dust2 and their decision to leave Cache open despite limited recent play on that map, and he noted Legacy’s ban of Mirage altered the likely map sequence. Legacy secured the tie in two maps and avoided a decider.

Legacy opened both maps with quick starts and won key pistol rounds that helped produce numerical advantages later in rounds. arT highlighted those early rounds and a steady team approach as the main factors. He praised w0nderful for several ‘amazing rounds’ on Inferno that kept NAVI competitive but said sustained pressure allowed Legacy to finish the maps.

Regarding match management, arT reflected on the team’s ability to create and convert man advantages: ‘We had advantages, but we just couldn’t close it out, right? So we knew that if we kept playing the way we wanted, we’d keep creating those man advantages, and eventually we’d be able to close it out.’

The match was the first tournament for new signing Santino ‘try’ Rigal with Legacy. Piovezan noted try’s individual skill and said the roster needs time to refine communication and specific map roles. He compared try to the player he replaced, saadzin, saying both have similar potential and that the team must adjust its structure to let try play comfortably.

arT responded to critics who downplayed Legacy’s previous CS Asia Championship result in China by emphasizing the squad’s awareness of its level and focus on improvement. ‘We know the [level of] CS and the potential we have,’ he said, adding that results will determine outside opinion.

Legacy will face Falcons in the quarter-finals in a rematch of the CS Asia Championships final three months earlier. Falcons beat Legacy in later events and went on to win the Major; Piovezan warned Falcons will be motivated and better prepared and said Legacy must ‘play our best CS, impose our style, and not let them control the match.’

Piovezan also reviewed earlier errors at the tournament, citing execution issues on Cache and lost pistol rounds in the game against FaZe that affected that result. The team plans to address those details while integrating try into the lineup as it pursues deeper runs at future events.