Legacy got their Thunderpick World Championship campaign off to a good start following a hard-fought 2-0 win over PARIVISION. The series marked Andrei “arT” Piovezan‘s return to action after he missed ESL Pro League Season 24 with meningitis.
Speaking to HLTV after the match, the 30-year-old admitted to some frustration that his health problems stopped the team from capitalizing on the momentum generated by their earlier results, including the FISSURE Playground 3 title run, but insisted there is no point in dwelling on it.
“Every team that builds that momentum and manages to use it — that’s really good for confidence and everything,” he told HLTV after the match. “So there’s this feeling of frustration, right? That helplessness of not being able to help or do more.
“We knew we had a chance to win the next tournaments we attended, based on how we had been performing. Now we have to look ahead and realize that we have a new opportunity here. We got off on the right foot, which is important, so we’ll try to build on that.”
arT, welcome back. A 2-0 victory in your return to competition, with two very hard-fought maps. Give me your thoughts on the series.
I think it was good. We managed to play good CS. I wasn’t that on point, my aim is still a bit shaky, it’s been a long time without playing CS, I couldn’t play almost at all. So, yeah, it was expected. But we managed, tactically and collectively, to play well. The guys also won some important rounds there, individually, which really helped us. But it’s good to start off on the right foot, it’s always important.
This is your return to the team after missing EPL due to health problems. I read that you followed the team’s practices a bit during your absence. Did you suffer a lot watching the team play from afar?
Yeah, I think so. It’s too frustrating. It was the first time I hadn’t taken part in a championship since I started playing CS, so missing it is really frustrating. At the same time, I wanted to help, but I also didn’t want to get in the way. It’s also hard to help without a PC. Even without me they played well; they had quite a few chances to beat PARIVISION, they had match point and opportunities to close out the map. They also had a good lead against 1win and beat ShindeN, so they were playing well. I think it came down to details, getting a playoff spot or making those matches closer. It’s always hard being away, but now that we’re here, the focus is on getting back the momentum we had before.
This tournament will be a chance to fine-tune the car as we go. It’s possible that we can fix things in the next few matches
Legacy were coming off a really good run. Third place at EWC, the title at FISSURE, and some close matches against Vitality and Falcons at BLAST Porto. Was it frustrating to not be able to keep that up? Do you think the team has taken a bit of a step back?
For sure. We came back from China and we had like three days off before we were supposed to come back and resume practice. But just as we were about to get back, I got sick, I started getting headaches, I couldn’t play anymore. So that really took a toll because the team couldn’t practice without me. Aside from the days when I was in the hospital and during the tournament, we couldn’t practice in Brazil. So we ended up with a really long stretch without playing CS. That always disrupts things, bothers everyone, is frustrating, and sets us back a step, right? We knew it was really important to keep the momentum we’d built going.
Every team that builds that momentum and manages to use it — that’s really good for confidence and everything. So there’s this feeling of frustration, right? That helplessness of not being able to help or do more. We knew we had a chance to win the next tournaments we attended, based on how we had been performing. Now we have to look ahead and realize that we have a new opportunity here. We got off on the right foot, which is important, so we’ll try to build on that.
How long do you think it will take for the team to get back to the level it showed recently?
I think this tournament alone will be enough for us to bounce back. We already have material to analyze and discuss. We’ve already started to build some things to get back on track, tactically and as a team. So, I think this building process during the tournament will be important.
So it’s a kind of test for the team, this event, to find out where you stand.
Yeah, I think you could say that. Also, to come back from that rough patch. I wasn’t 100 percent mentally ready for CS either; I wasn’t tactically ready, and my aim wasn’t there either. This tournament will be a chance to fine-tune the car as we go. It’s possible that we can fix things in the next few matches. If we can get the next win, it will give us the opportunity to go far in the tournament, maybe even win it. So one step at a time.
What has the focus been in practice to get the team back to the right level?
There hasn’t been any practice. I was discharged and stayed in Brazil for two more days to do some tests and continue my treatment. I got here like, a day before media day, jet-lagged, sleep-deprived… I’m sleepy, I woke up at six in the morning, taking medicine… Yesterday, we practiced some maps, but there’s only so much you can do. One day of practice isn’t going to change much, so we’re just trying to stabilize the team, be mentally ready so as not to get frustrated, knowing the expectation can’t be that we’re going to show up a hundred percent ready, with the right mindset.
I also needed some time to stabilize myself, to understand what we want to do, how we want to play, things we’re doing well that we want to keep. I think we managed to do that well with the little time we had, we managed to be prepared for today. The expectation is to get back now for the next matches with the same intensity as today and try to just really get back on track.
Given the circumstances, what goals have you set?
It’s always to get a playoff spot, that’s the expectation we always have, even considering the level we’ve been showing, it’s what’s expected of us. It’s what we expect as well. But at the same time, we have to manage our frustration in case we don’t make it for some reason and come out of it stronger. And if we manage to reach the playoffs, the focus from there is to try to win the tournament. I think that’ll always be our focus. But as I said, there’s no point in thinking about that and performing poorly tomorrow. So our main focus is to win tomorrow.
