kakafu on Luminosity Gaming: “Right now, our main goal is to make this team work.”
Luminosity Gaming coach Alexander “kakafu” Shimanchik shared his thoughts in an interview at the Esports World Cup 2026 following the loss to Team Spirit, and also discussed the transfer of Monte players to Luminosity Gaming and his work with Lukas “lux” Meneghini.
On the loss to Team Spirit on Ancient
We got off to a decent start on Ancient, but then we couldn’t win four retakes in a row. The guys just weren’t taking the initiative and weren’t outplaying their opponents. Then there were a few chaotic rounds, including one where donk won a 1v3 clutch. The setbacks just kept coming one after another. Still, I think our game plan was solid.
On the move to Luminosity Gaming
The whole transfer situation was very confusing. When Luminosity bought out Monte’s contract, they planned to sign another coach, but in the end, I continued working with the roster. Before the start of the XSE Pro League 2026, most of the players didn’t know if they’d be able to travel to China because of the confusion with the organization. However, we had to attend the tournament to preserve our VRS points. Only after that were we finally able to train properly.
On working with lux
We had the opportunity to play with lux. When we joined Luminosity, he was already here. Right now, our main goal is to make this team work. Of course, the Brazilian mindset is very different from the European one. Nevertheless, if we find a way to combine different approaches to CS into a single system, we’ll have a successful team.
Luminosity Gaming lost to Team Spirit in a group stage match at the 2026 Esports World Cup for Counter-Strike 2 with a score of 0–2 in maps. The team finished the tournament in 25th–32nd place and received $10,000 in prize money.
Photo: PGL.
