Legacy bowed out of the Opening Stage with a 2-3 record after their loss to TheMongolz, but they remain upbeat.
Legacy’s in-game leader remained positive despite elimination
Legacy were not expected to make it out of the Major, but they upset both FURIA and GamerLegion in Copenhagen, exceeding expectations.
Gabriel Schenato | NEKIZ reflected on their elimination by TheMongolz without controversy and displayed a positive attitude despite losing 2-3.
NEKIZ said, “When I got the role of the in-game leader, I wasn’t that confident,” NEKIZ told a foreign outlet. “But when we came to the Major, I regained my confidence there. Now, winning those two matches gave me more confidence for what’s coming.”
He also touched on the Brazilian region as a whole, commenting on the lack of respect some European teams showed them in practice games – a situation he hopes will change after South American teams’ strong performances at the Major.
Here is what he had to say:
Q: How do you feel about Legacy being eliminated?
I’m not sad because we lost. We played the Brazilian qualifier, we made it to the Major, and we had a good run. We had the chance to make it to the next stage, everyone was hungry for it, so no one has to blame themselves. In Mexico, we were even a bit worried about not making it to the Major, so feeling good and having this impact at the Major, although it’s not perfect, feels great, and we’re not sad.
Q: Was the manner of the defeat disappointing? It didn’t showcase your full potential with some 2v4s and eco comebacks.
Actually, it feels bad. We’ll review the game and try to correct these mistakes, but right now I can’t remember those rounds. It’s a conflicting feeling, on one hand, being happy for the good performance at the Major, and on the other hand, being disappointed for not making it to the next stage. Overall, I feel alright. I’m not sad. I don’t want to think about the match right now.
I just want to rest because we didn’t have a break at the end of the year. I told the guys, “If we make it to the next stage, I need a break.” They said, “Okay, you have one day off because the day after you’ll play G2 or Virtus.pro.” I said, “Man, I just want to rest.” But anyway, if you win, you have a lot of matches to play, it’s normal. Right now, I just want to rest.
Q: On a positive note, you’re a new in-game leader, coldzera is a new AWPer, and the team hasn’t been together for long in this new system. What do these two wins mean?
It means a lot to me. When I got the role of the in-game leader, I wasn’t that confident. I was more like an assistant in-game leader in 2020 and 2021. I wasn’t that confident, I needed good results to build my confidence. But when we came to the Major, I regained my confidence here. Winning those two matches gave me more confidence for what’s coming. So, I feel good.
Q: Looking back at the entire experience, it was a good run, right? Many people thought you would go 0-3. Did not having that pressure help?
Sure, the pressure on your shoulders is always hard to handle. But we didn’t have that pressure at the Major. Maybe in this match, the Brazilians expected us to beat TheMongolz. But they always beat the Brazilian teams, they always crush us, so there was a little bit of pressure, but not much. We were very confident, there wasn’t too much pressure, we just made some mistakes, and of course, you can’t make those mistakes at the Major.
Q: What happened in the loss to TheMongolz? Was it a matter of style or execution? They were quite aggressive, sometimes catching you off guard.
Hard to say. On Anubis, we really struggled, we couldn’t beat them. But on Ancient, we had control of the game. Our mistakes cost us that match. I’m not saying they’re easy to deal with, maybe the teams that lost to them had some pressure, but I never lost to them, so I thought it was just another match, like against Apeks. We had some counter-strategies, and I thought we could win confidently, without mistakes, like yesterday. But on Ancient, those mistakes cost us the match.
Q: Lastly, let’s talk about the Brazilian teams’ performance overall. It was better than many people expected. Are you proud of Brazil?
Of course. Yesterday, I did an interview, and I talked about how every time we played against European teams – not all of them, but many – I felt like they didn’t respect us, sometimes even mocking us. Of course, not everyone does that, but I felt like the Brazilians didn’t get the respect they deserve, considering Brazilian teams won two Majors. With this showing from the Brazilians at the Major and Imperial and FURIA getting two spots, maybe we can regain the respect we deserve.