ESL bars Legacy coach from the IEM Cologne Major 2026

Brazilian team Legacy, who are fighting for their Major lives at the ongoing IEM Cologne Major 2026, has been dealt with a big blow as the tournament organiser, ESL has been removed from standing behind the team. ESL states that Alan 'adrrr' Riveros is not allowed to stand behind his team after violating communication rules.

ESL said that adrr had received multiple warnings for 'interacting with the Legacy players during rounds outside the specified time period where coaches are allowed to communicate, with the most recent incident involving the use of hand signals to confirm a strategy during a match'. The violation from adrrr came during Legacy's win over PARIVISION in the 0-2 bracket game at the ongoing IEM Cologne Major 2026 Stage 3.

'After reviewing repeated violations of the Major ruleset, the decision has been made that adr will no longer be permitted to coach the team for the remainder of the event's matches.

adr received multiple warnings for interacting with Legacy players during rounds, with the most recent incident involving the use of hand signals to confirm a strategy during a match.'
ESL's official statement on the matter

The IEM Cologne rulebook also states that coaches are not allowed to communicate in any other way with the players outside the mentioned time windows. The rulebook says any coach violating the rules will receive one warning following which they will be ejected from the and also can be removed from the remainder of the event if the violation is more severe.

Legacy started their IEM Cologne Major 2026 Stage 3 campaign with losses to MOUZ and Natus Vincere (NAVI) which dropped them to the 0-2 bracket but saw off elimination against PARIVISION and will continue to fight on as they are scheduled to take on G2 later on today in the 1-2 bracket.