Everyone loves a good “Cinderella story”. From timeless movies about underdogs overcoming impossible odds in the name of family, love, or greatness, to real-life athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo or the legendary Williams sisters — Serena and Venus — who rose from humble beginnings to global stardom.
Counter-Strike has its own share of stories just as inspiring and unexpected. One of the most remarkable is that of the Brazilian team that began 2025 outside the top 50 but now sits among the 15 best in the world. A team that didn’t even qualify for the BLAST Austin Major 2025 yet made it all the way to Stage 3. A team that could make magic happen twice and once again shock the world in Budapest — Team Legacy.
The First Steps
Since the organization’s creation in September 2023, Legacy already had an intriguing mix of talent, signing the ex-00Nation lineup:
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Marcelo “coldzera” David
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Gabriel “NEKIZ” Schenato (IGL)
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Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer
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Lucas “nqz” Soares
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Bruno “latto” Rebelatto
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Olavo “chucky” Napoleão
The team showed flashes of potential, especially the trio of coldzera, latto, and dumau, who had previously qualified for IEM Rio Major 2022. Dumau and latto were hailed as Brazil’s next superstars, while veterans like coldzera and NEKIZ were expected to guide them toward greatness. But chaos soon followed.
Less than a month after the team’s founding, nqz was benched and later sold to paiN Gaming. Coldzera took over AWP duties, while Bruno “b4rtiN” Câmara joined to fill the gap.
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Legacy’s 2024 season had its moments — notably reaching the Opening Stage of the PGL CS2 Copenhagen Major — but the results were inconsistent. Despite adding rookie AWPer Guilherme “saadzin” Pacheco to replace coldzera, the team remained far from the country’s elite, ending the year behind FURIA, MIBR, paiN, Imperial, and RED Canids.
A New Beginning
The start of 2025 brought sweeping changes. NEKIZ and b4rtiN departed, and Legacy began searching for a new in-game leader and a supportive role player to balance their aggressive core. They found both.
Lucas “lux” Meneghini
After a year and a half under paiN’s biguzera, lux was ready to debut as an IGL. He called it “a dream opportunity — to play with people I’ve always wanted to.” Inspired by the likes of biguzera, WOOD7, and FalleN, lux sought to blend firepower with structure — “a protocol nerd” who could lead by example.
Vinicius “n1ssim” Pereira
For n1ssim, it was a second chance. After helping paiN reach the Legends Stage of the Copenhagen Major, he was recalled by SHARKS but never played an official match, spending nine months benched. With lux’s trust and his proven reliability as an anchor/lurker, n1ssim earned his way back.
The Big Breakthrough
Everyone remembers how Legacy entered the BLAST Austin Major 2025 — not by qualifying, but as a replacement for BESTIA. Against all odds, they advanced through Stage 1 and Stage 2, and came within rounds of defeating MOUZ in Stage 3 to reach the playoffs.
Despite Vitality’s Major victory, TheMongolZ’s Grand Final run, and paiN Gaming’s top-four finish, Legacy’s story stood out as one of the most heartwarming of the tournament. Dumau and latto delivered career performances — ranking 6th and 13th among all players — while lux and n1ssim shined as key pillars of structure and consistency. This was Legacy’s true breakthrough. But what followed wasn’t as pretty.
Growing Pains
Success brought expectations — and expectations brought pressure. As many teams before them (GamerLegion, Into the Breach, Wildcard) discovered, replicating a Major overperformance is no easy task.
The next four months were rough: early exits at BLAST Bounty Season 2, BLAST Open London 2025, FISSURE Playground #2, and ESL Pro League Stage 1 signaled a drop in confidence and chemistry. The team’s issues weren’t mechanical — they were mental. lux, via HLTV at CS Asia Championship 2025
After that good result, we started to pressure ourselves more… We need to pressure ourselves to be better, but we don’t need to be hard on our teammates.
Legacy learned the hard way that growth hurts — physically, emotionally, and mentally. But instead of breaking, they rebuilt.
Mentality Monsters
Months of frustration turned into fuel. Heading into the CS Asia Championship 2025, Legacy were far from favorites — yet they conquered the event, taking home $150,000 (+$250,000 Club share).
They lost a map in every series and trailed 1–2 in the Grand Final against 3DMAX, but still came back to win. Their resilience and unity stood out. lux, via HLTV interview:
“Everybody wants to win, but sometimes you just want to be right in the discussion. Now we are focused on evolution and unity
Their momentum carried into Bucharest, where they made another Grand Final at a $1,000,000+ event. Despite falling to Aurora in a 2–3 thriller, Legacy impressed with their comebacks, especially their reverse sweep against SAW. n1ssim, jokingly comparing their fighting spirit:
We’re Vitality as well — a little bit like Vitality
It’s funny, but fitting — Legacy now embodied the same mental strength that defined Vitality’s 2025 dominance.
From Underdogs to Contenders
2025 may not be universally known as “The Year of Legacy,” but it is their defining chapter. Like TheMongolZ a year prior, they’ve experienced the full cycle — success, collapse, and rebirth.
Today, Legacy stand as one of the most creative and fearless teams in CS2: a full-Brazilian roster that values chemistry as much as firepower. Lux’s leadership, combined with the raw talent of dumau, latto, n1ssim, and saadzin, turned this lineup into something far greater than the sum of its parts.
Legacy are heading to the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 not as underdogs, but as a wiser, united, and dangerous team — ready to write the next chapter of their story on the biggest stage of them all.
