Aleksandar 'CacaNito' Kjulukoski from JiJieHao shared his thoughts on the team's performance at the Esports World Cup, expressing disappointment despite their impressive opening victory.
The Asian squad managed to upset Spirit in a best-of-one format but struggled significantly in their subsequent matches. They dropped series against GamerLegion and Aurora, managing an average of only five rounds per map across both encounters.
CacaNito believes the team may have gotten carried away after their initial success. He suggested they became overconfident following the Spirit victory and failed to deliver their usual level of play when it mattered most. The player mentioned uncertainty about whether pressure or fatigue from their long tournament run affected their performance, but acknowledged they simply didn't execute properly.
Despite the setbacks, there are silver linings to their Paris appearance. The team had to battle through the Last-Chance Qualifier just to reach the main event, which head coach Torbjørn 'mithR' Nyborg highlighted as an achievement worth celebrating.
JiJieHao has climbed to 34th in the global VRS rankings, their best position since May 2025. Looking ahead, they're registered for open qualifiers for IEM Beijing and the LEON.bet Masters in Portugal.
The path to a Major has become more challenging since Valve restructured regions, placing MENA under Europe. However, CacaNito remains optimistic about the future. He outlined plans for a brief mental reset before returning to practice, emphasizing the need to reach more top-tier events and potentially make playoff runs. While acknowledging they're still outside the top 30, he believes reaching a Major is achievable if they maintain their improvement trajectory and continue competing consistently.
