JiJieHao shocked Spirit in the opening round of the Esports World Cup. However, the team could not repeat that level in its next two matches.
Aleksandar “CacaNito” Kjulukoski admitted that JiJieHao failed to show its true game in the best-of-three series. The Asian team lost 0-2 to GamerLegion and Aurora, averaging only five rounds per map across both series.
Spirit Win Raised Expectations
JiJieHao reached the main tournament after a long run through the Last-Chance Qualifier. The team beat several strong opponents to secure a place in the Esports World Cup.
The victory over Spirit then created new expectations. However, JiJieHao could not carry that momentum into the matches against GamerLegion and Aurora.
CacaNito reflected on the team’s reaction after the Spirit upset.
I think we were kind of maybe overhyped from the best-of-one. We beat Spirit and we thought we were much better than what we showed now.
I think we didn’t play the way we were supposed to play, and we didn’t show our game in the best-of-threes. I don’t know if it’s pressure or being tired from the long run or whatever, but I think we just failed.
Two Difficult Best-of-Three Series
JiJieHao exited the tournament after two one-sided defeats. The team did not put up much of a fight against GamerLegion or Aurora.
For CacaNito, the lack of resistance was the biggest disappointment of the Paris campaign.
I’m just a bit disappointed that we didn’t fight until the end, and we didn’t show in these two best-of-threes that we can play well.
Still, the Esports World Cup run gave JiJieHao several positives. Head coach Torbjørn “mithR” Nyborg believes the team should be proud of reaching the main event.
There were still a lot of good teams in the qualifier, and we managed to beat them and qualify for a tier-1 tournament. That’s a huge step for us with this lineup and the team. I think we showed we can play good CS.
JiJieHao Target More Tier-One Events
CacaNito shared these thoughts with HLTV after JiJieHao’s Esports World Cup exit. The team rose to 34th in the global VRS after its Paris campaign. It is JiJieHao’s highest ranking since May 2025.
Meanwhile, JiJieHao have registered for the open qualifiers for IEM Beijing and the LEON.bet Masters. The latter is a tier-2 LAN event in Portugal.
The path to a Major has become more difficult after Valve placed the Middle East and North Africa sub-region under Europe. Nevertheless, the players remain focused on their long-term target.
We made a huge step here, but we’re still top-35. But I think we can get to the Major. We improved in this tournament and we saw that we can play good CS. We are just another step closer to the Major. We just need to keep grinding and play well in different tournaments.
