Legacy vs. The MongolZ at IEM Beijing 2026:ksloks' First Match,Six Days After Bucharest
Six days after The MongolZ knocked Legacy out of Bucharest, the teams open IEM Beijing against each other — with ksloks replacing n1ssim in Legacy's lineup.
Six days after The MongolZ knocked Legacy out of PGL Masters Bucharest, the two teams open IEM Beijing against each other. One thing has changed: Italo "ksloks" Meinberg replaces Vinicius "n1ssim" Pereira in Legacy's starting five for the rest of 2026, and this is his first match in that role.
Tournament
IEM Beijing 2026Stage
Group A · Opening Round
Date
November 2, 2026
Time
03:00 CET · 10:00 Beijing
Format
Best of 3
Player names link to their HLTV.org profiles. ksloks stands in for n1ssim until the end of 2026.
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A New Fifth Player for the Last Three Events
Legacy confirmed the change on October 28, the day after their Bucharest exit. ksloks, 21, was a regular on HLTV's Prospects list and had been a free agent since leaving ODDIK. Legacy had already registered him as a substitute in case Andrei "arT" Piovezan, who missed ESL Pro League Season 24 with meningitis, had to sit out again. He now plays the final three events of the year. HLTV reported that the reason for n1ssim's benching was unclear at the time.
The move follows a difficult stretch. Legacy won FISSURE Playground 3 in September, but according to HLTV they have gone out in the group stage at three straight events since. In Bucharest they beat DENDELE and lost to Nemiga, Liquid and, last, The MongolZ.
The MongolZ Have Found Their Footing
The MongolZ arrive in the opposite mood. Yesuntumur "nin9" Gantulga joined from The Huns less than a month ago, Anarbileg "cobrazera" Uuganbayar returned to the active lineup, and the new five won their first event together: 1win Private Club Season 2, closed out with a 3-0 over PARIVISION. It was the team's first trophy since the Esports World Cup 2025, fourteen months earlier. In Bucharest they then beat Aurora and Legacy before losses to Vitality, MOUZ and Nemiga ended their run.
What Bucharest Does and Doesn't Say
The October 27 meeting was one-sided: The MongolZ won 13-8 on Inferno and 13-8 on Mirage to end Legacy's tournament. Four of Monday's Legacy players were on the server, with n1ssim in the spot ksloks now takes. The only other 2026 meeting went the other way. At the CS Asia Championships in Shanghai on May 22, Legacy won 2-1 (Inferno 13-11, Mirage 10-13, Nuke 13-10), but that was before nin9 and before Santino "try" Rigal joined Legacy as their AWPer, so it says little about this matchup.
Over the past three months, Legacy's most reliable map has been Mirage (64% over 14 maps), while The MongolZ have won all five of their Ancient maps. Both teams ban Anubis every time it's their call.
Why China Matters for Legacy
For all of Legacy's recent trouble, Chinese stages have treated them well. They won the CS Asia Championships in 2025 and defended the title in Shanghai in May, beating Falcons 3-1 in the final. A first win with ksloks would be the cleanest way to show the slump hasn't followed them to Beijing.
What's at Stake
The winner moves on to Group A's upper-bracket semi-finals against the winner of HEROIC vs. B8. The loser drops into the lower bracket, where one more defeat ends the tournament.
More IEM Beijing 2026 Coverage
See all 16 teams, both groups, the full schedule and every result.
