Legacy have reached the Esports World Cup 2026 semi-finals after pulling off a major upset against Falcons in the quarter-finals. The Brazilian squad swept the world’s No. 1 team 2-0, winning Mirage 13-7 before closing Dust2 13-10. Santino “try” Rigal led the way with a 1.49 rating, while Bruno “latto” Rebelatto finished at 1.37. The victory sends Legacy into the semi-finals and ends Falcons’ run in Paris.
Legacy continue their impressive EWC run
Legacy entered the playoffs after recovering from a difficult group stage. They opened the tournament with a 13-5 victory over Ninjas in Pyjamas before suffering a 0-2 defeat to FaZe. With elimination on the line, the Brazilians responded in impressive fashion. They swept MIBR 2-0 to secure their place in the playoffs before producing another statement result in the Round of 16. Legacy defeated NAVI 2-0 to book a quarter-final meeting with Falcons. That victory gave them momentum, but Falcons still entered the matchup as one of the tournament favorites.
Falcons had opened their playoff run with a convincing 2-0 victory over The MongolZ. However, their three-match winning streak came to an abrupt end against Legacy.
Legacy take control on Mirage and finish the job on Dust2
The series started on Mirage, Legacy’s map pick. The Brazilians established a narrow 7-5 advantage in the first half before completely taking control after the side switch. Legacy won six of the next eight rounds and closed their pick 13-7. Falcons struggled to find answers as the Brazilians moved within one map of the semi-finals.
Dust2 was Falcons’ opportunity to respond. The map remained close throughout the first half, with Legacy holding another narrow 7-5 advantage. Falcons continued to fight after the break and managed five more rounds. However, Legacy stayed composed in the decisive moments and secured a 13-10 victory to complete the 2-0 sweep.
try leads Legacy with a 1.49 rating
Santino “try” Rigal delivered the best performance of the series. The Argentine AWPer finished the two maps with 39 kills and only 23 deaths. He also recorded 81.3 ADR, 83.7% KAST and a 1.49 rating. Bruno “latto” Rebelatto provided strong support with a 1.37 rating and 92.5 ADR. Andrei “arT” Piovezan and Vinicius “n1ssim” Pereira both finished with 1.04 ratings.
Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov was the only Falcons player to finish above 1.00. He recorded 37 kills and a 1.35 rating, but it was not enough to keep his team alive. The rest of Falcons struggled heavily. René “TeSeS” Madsen finished with a 0.84 rating, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač posted 0.76, Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin recorded 0.71, and Finn “karrigan” Andersen ended the series at 0.63.
Legacy climb into the VRS top five
The upset also provides Legacy with a significant boost in the projected Valve Regional Standings. They gained 50 points, increasing their total from 1,806 to 1,856. As a result, Legacy are projected to climb two positions from No. 7 to No. 5.
Falcons lost 19 points following the defeat. Their total drops from 1,970 to 1,951, although they remain No. 2 in the projected standings. The result therefore gives Legacy both a semi-final appearance and another major step forward in the global ranking.
Legacy beat Falcons again after previous sweep
Legacy have now strengthened their record against Falcons. The teams had met several times before, with Falcons holding a 5-3 advantage in series ahead of this quarter-final. Their most recent encounter came at CS Asia Championships 2026. Legacy won that series convincingly, taking Dust2 13-6, Mirage 13-6 and Ancient 13-9 in a 3-1 victory. Falcons therefore entered the EWC quarter-final looking for revenge. Instead, Legacy once again proved to be a difficult opponent and eliminated them without dropping a map.
Teams react after the match
Legacy celebrated one of the biggest victories of their EWC campaign and confirmed their place in the semi-finals:
WE’RE IN THE EWC SEMIFINALS!
TODAY WAS FALCON HUNTING DAY!
The Brazilian organization also highlighted the 2-0 score and its victories on Mirage and Dust2. Falcons, meanwhile, confirmed that their tournament run had come to an end:
Our CS journey at EWC ends here
The organization thanked its supporters and acknowledged that the quarter-final defeat was not the ending it had hoped for.
What’s next?
Legacy advance to the Esports World Cup 2026 semi-finals after eliminating one of the tournament favorites. Consecutive 2-0 playoff victories over NAVI and Falcons have turned their run into one of the biggest stories of the event.
For Falcons, the tournament ends in the quarter-finals. After comfortably beating The MongolZ in their playoff opener, the world’s No. 1 team could not find an answer against Legacy and exits EWC 2026 with a 0-2 defeat.
