“We’re good at punishing mistakes”:  Shopify Rebellion coach talks strategy at ALGS 2026

Luca ‘Liuq’ Andenna is the only Italian at the ALGS 2026 Championship and is the assistant coach for Shopify Rebellion, a team that is expected to reach the grand finals. 

In the freezing cold of Sapporo, Japan, Esports Insider Italy interviewed Liuq to share his impressions of the tournament, his perspective on competitive Apex Legends and what esports direction he wants from the battle royale title. 

Before becoming the strategy guru for Shopify Rebellion, Liuq was a coach at Gaimin Gladiators. However, he went on to join the Americas team after the ALGS Midseason Playoffs at the Esports World Cup. 

“After the Esports World Cup ended, Don (Abas Adam, the head coach at Shopify Rebellion) came to me and asked me to join forces, and the idea of ​​collaborating with him seemed fantastic,” he said.

“The reason is that I deal with game strategy; I’m good, but I’m not a master at building interpersonal relationships with players and staff. From this perspective, I think Don is the best in the world: I handle the technical aspect, he handles the interpersonal aspects, but we always collaborate on both aspects.”

The Apex Legends competitive meta is more diverse than ever this year. Nevertheless, some winning strategies and compositions are still the cornerstones of team preparedness.

 Still, Liuq thinks this year’s ALGS Championship will be one to remember: “It’s going to be the best tournament we’ll ever see, despite some first few predictable games where we’ll see Newcastle, Valkyrie, and Caustic (who together are a cheat code), or Bangalore, Cripto, and Alter, which are the only composition that barely counters this set.

“From the moment Newcastle gets banned, I expect the number of viable teams to drop significantly because many squads have built their strategy around staying alive thanks to Newcastle. But in ALGS Pro League, it’s much easier than in the World Cup, where after two games you’re no longer able to create playable spots out of thin air. This means that around the fourth or fifth ring, people start throwing themselves at the first enemy they encounter.”

There’s a trendsetter at this year’s ALGS, so a lot of smaller teams will try to imitate the top dogs. However, this is something that Liuq will try to capitalise on.

“Many are trying to imitate Team Falcons, but ImperialHal’s team shoots better than 98% of the players at this event, so copying them won’t do any good. I expect a change in behaviour among those teams that avoid fighting, and we are very good at punishing mistakes.”

Steady player numbers and high levels of engagement point towards a growing trend in the Apex Legends professional scene. When asked about the future of Apex Legends esports, Liuq is positive about the general situation, but “there’s a lot of work to do.”

He continued: “This year is the perfect opportunity to show the world that Apex Legends is one of the best esports out there. Look at Warzone, for example, it doesn’t have the same impact despite a background as huge as CoD, one of the franchises on the Mount Rushmore of video games.”

However, he also echoed a sentiment that some ALGS pros have shared — further investment is needed.

“I’d like to see EA’s revenue, given that the funding is there, and see more investment in organisations to further grow the ecosystem,” the coach said.

“Apex’s strength is competitive, and they take care of both the competitive and casual segments, so that gives me hope. It would be nice to see greater synergy with organisations.”

Like Alliance’s Hakis, Liuq is also worried about the souring of the relationship between casual gamers and pros. 

He added: “If I could make one suggestion to EA, it would be to change the approach to engaging with the community, which is currently very negative about the game. 

“I’m the first to point out the flaws, but we have to recognise that every tournament is a great show, every match is fun to watch and provides a meaningful experience. I’d like the community to change because it would be nice to see a more positive atmosphere.”