Sato after victory over Global Esports: “We have fish memory” — post-match interview

After LEVIATÁN defeated Global Esports 2:1 in the first round of the Swiss Stage at VALORANT Masters London 2026, Eduardo “Sato” Kenzo Nagahama Sato gave a post-match interview on the official broadcast. He spoke about the difficult start on Pearl, the team’s reset between maps, the change of pace on Split, and the support from fans in London.

LEVIATÁN recovered after a rough start on Pearl

Sato was first asked about Pearl, where Global Esports did not allow LEVIATÁN to play their game. The Brazilian player admitted that the opening map was difficult for him personally, but said the team felt it was improving even before the map ended.

They beat my ass in the first game. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t shoot. They were just owning us. We went back at the end, and it was still a bad scoreboard, but we felt like we were getting better. I also feel like the nerves were a little bit high on the first map, and then we stabilized after that. I think our team is really good at resetting between maps, so it was just natural for us.

  

Sato explained LEVIATÁN’s reset mentality

When asked about the key to resetting after a difficult map, Sato described a phrase the team uses internally. According to him, LEVIATÁN tries to quickly forget what went wrong and focus only on the next map.

We have a saying: we have fish memory. We always say it because fish forget everything. So we just say, ‘Let’s have fish memory,’ forget about what just happened, and focus on the next one.

 

Split became the final turning point

The interviewer then asked Sato how LEVIATÁN managed to change the pace on Split, especially after Global Esports had already shown strong ideas earlier in the series. Sato said the team trusted its own approach on attack, while also admitting that some defensive situations were harder to solve.

I think we were really confident in the way that we play on the attack side. On defense, we couldn’t adapt to certain things. They were playing really well with the post-blinds. Honestly, it was a really great match.

  

London crowd gave Sato a special moment

At the end of the interview, Sato was asked about the support from fans in London. The player kept his answer short, but made it clear that the atmosphere meant a lot to him.

This feels great. Honestly, this feels great.

The broadcast segment ended with the interviewer mentioning that one of Sato’s biggest fans was also in the crowd — his mother, Adriana — who was watching him perform on the international stage.

VALORANT Masters London 2026 is taking place from June 6 to June 21 at the Copper Box Arena in London. The event features 12 teams from four regions, with a $1,000,000 prize pool and Championship Points toward VALORANT Champions 2026.