coachi cites experience after DENDELE exit at BLAST Open Porto

DENDELE coach Hélder “coachi” Sancho assessed his team’s BLAST Open Porto 2026 campaign after the loss to Aurora that ended its run in the event. Speaking to reporter James “BanKs” Banks on August 28, the Portuguese-Brazilian coach said the scorelines did not fully describe how closely his side had competed.

The coach pointed to DENDELE’s opening match against Spirit in Copenhagen and the subsequent Aurora match as examples of opportunities that slipped away. He said DENDELE won early gun rounds in both situations, but pistol-round losses and costly mistakes prevented the team from converting those positions into better results.

According to coachi, the central issue was not a lack of belief in the team’s potential. His explanation was that the players need more exposure to this type of match and more appearances at major tournaments, where they can gain the experience he considers necessary to close decisive rounds.

coachi described the Spirit match as closely contested despite the final result. He said DENDELE lost all 4 pistol rounds and added that donk was highly inspired. Even so, he believed the team could have beaten Spirit or at least taken a map after winning the first gun rounds.

In the Aurora series, he made a similar comparison between Cache and Mirage. DENDELE again won the first gun rounds on Cache, but coachi said the team lost every pistol round and then dropped an anti-eco round to USP-S weapons. He said the 13-7 result on Cache was as close as the Mirage map that reached overtime.

The coach also recalled a 5v3 situation that could have finished Mirage. In his account, a shot from doc in palace caused the team to cancel its call, retreat, and lose clarity over what to do next. coachi treated that sequence as part of the mistakes his players must reduce through experience.

coachi identifies closing rounds as DENDELE’s next task

The coach’s assessment focused on composure in decisive moments. He said DENDELE became nervous and did not complete a round he described as ideal for ending the game on Mirage. His comments did not present the Aurora loss as one-sided; instead, he said the match was 50/50 and that his team had been as good as Aurora.

coachi said Aurora used its experience to complete the job when DENDELE did not. He added that this extra element is needed to close matches, while maintaining that DENDELE can become a team capable of causing damage at future events. The distinction in his remarks was between the team’s ability to compete and its current ability to finish key situations.

He did not offer a short-term shortcut for gaining that experience. Rather, coachi said DENDELE must attend these championships more often. He connected that need to the current South American competitive environment, where he said 3 teams are in the top 10 and invitations are difficult because those teams are much stronger.

• Against Spirit, coachi said DENDELE lost all 4 pistol rounds, while winning the first gun rounds and having a chance to win the match or take a map.
• Against Aurora, he said DENDELE lost every pistol round on Cache and lost an anti-eco round to USP-S weapons after taking the first gun rounds.
• On Mirage, coachi cited a 5v3 chance to close the game and a disrupted call after doc fired from palace as examples of errors made in a decisive moment.
• For the next stage of development, coachi said the team need more frequent qualification for major tournaments rather than a formula that would immediately create experience.

The competitive consequence of the BLAST Open Porto elimination is immediate: DENDELE remain in Europe and are scheduled to play again on Tuesday, September 2. Their next documented assignment is the global qualifier for IEM Beijing 2026.

That qualifier gives context to coachi’s emphasis on attending more international events. He said qualifying for large tournaments and appearing at them more frequently is what DENDELE need, while also acknowledging the difficulty of receiving invitations from South America’s current field.

His conclusion after Aurora was cautious but positive about the team’s capacity. coachi said DENDELE play solidly and can cause damage, while repeating that more experience is required before the team can consistently convert close games.

Documented points from DENDELE’s BLAST assessment

The interview provides a direct account from DENDELE’s coach following the elimination. coachi’s explanation links specific match moments to his broader conclusion: the roster need more experience in high-pressure situations, especially when a close map can be finished.

His comments also establish the short chronology after the event. DENDELE exited BLAST Open Porto 2026 after losing to Aurora, stayed in Europe, and are due to enter the global IEM Beijing 2026 qualifier on September 2. No further result from that qualifier is stated.

For coachi, repeated access to major tournaments is the route he identified for improvement. He said South America is especially difficult for invitations because 3 teams are in the top 10, but he still described qualification and regular attendance at these events as DENDELE’s required next step.

coachi’s post-match assessment was that DENDELE were competitive with Aurora but did not manage key moments as effectively as their opponent. He attributed that gap to experience rather than presenting the elimination as a simple matter of the final score.

DENDELE’s next opportunity to pursue the tournament exposure requested by their coach comes in the global qualifier for IEM Beijing 2026. The team will enter that event while still in Europe after their BLAST Open Porto exit.