GamerLegion enjoyed a positive debut with Aleksandr “shalfey” Marenov at the helm of the team, finishing second to HOTU at RLG Tesla Cup 2026 after beating Envy (twice) and FaZe at the Serbian LAN.
The run in Belgrade moved GamerLegion up 14 spots to 33rd in the global VRS, softening the disappointment of failing to qualify for the Singapore Major.
Speaking to HLTV after the final, Adrian “imd” Pieper gave his first impressions of the Russian IGL, who is on trial until the end of the season, and outlined his expectations for next year.
A second-place finish with a new roster and a bunch of wins. So what do you think of this performance? Did you expect it?
Looking at the circumstances we were in the last months, I would say those [results] are definitely positive. In total, we have like three practice days with shalfey. Looking at it in a way that he never called in English. He basically only knew FL4MUS from our team, so it’s a totally new environment for him. I’m definitely happy about the result.
We’re going to do everything to be ready for the next season, basically. That’s the goal
How did it happen that you decided to sign him specifically? How did he cross your mind, and what convinced you that he’s the right guy for the job?
He’s a friend of FL4MUS’. That’s how I found out that at the end of forZe he was already calling, and then basically 9 Pandas as well. So he’s been IGLing for a long time. It’s nothing new for him. About the English language: to be honest, the first time we talked, I expected it to be way worse because he was definitely worried about that.
But comparing him to FL4MUS, the first talk we had, it’s a massive difference. And I think he’s adapting pretty fast. So I wouldn’t say that language is any problem for him right now. Of course, we have a lot of miscomms during the game. We basically speed-ran in three days everything that we had, and also we need to connect it with his vision. So, his name came from FL4MUS, and then we had a bunch of talks, and we just share the same vision. That’s how it happened.
And can you share a little bit on the Snax situation? He’s in the inactivity period, so do you expect him to come back early next year, or will you be playing with shalfey or some other IGL?
There are no plans for Snax to be IGLing for GamerLegion next season. Right now, until the end of the season, we are playing with shalfey, and then at the end of the trial period, we’re going to decide whether we continue or what the plan is going to be.
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Snax moves off GamerLegion’s active roster
And what do you think you will be doing until the end of the year? No Major for you, so you’ll have plenty of time. How do you think you are going to spend it?
We’re going to do everything to be ready for the next season, basically. That’s the goal. We just want to start strong in January, whenever the tournament seson is going to start.
This roster has already shown some promise right at this event. So what do you think would be the expectation for the next season? Do you think you can crack top 20, top 10? What’s the thinking?
Our goal, I would say, is definitely we want to attend all the Majors. And yeah, that season we didn’t manage to. So definitely it’s the Majors, and we want to be at every tier-one event that’s basically possible.
