{"id":242993,"date":"2026-08-08T08:41:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vpesports.com\/cs\/?p=242993"},"modified":"2026-08-09T16:52:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:52:47","slug":"koala-dendele-must-shift-mindset-from-learning-to-imposing-at-ewc-qualifier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vpesports.com\/cs\/koala-dendele-must-shift-mindset-from-learning-to-imposing-at-ewc-qualifier\/","title":{"rendered":"koala: DENDELE Must Shift Mindset From Learning to Imposing at EWC Qualifier"},"content":{"rendered":"

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DENDELE opened their campaign at the Esports World Cup open qualifier with two victories, but for Jo\u00e3o Pedro “koala” Pfeffer the results in Paris are only part of the story. The player believes his team must undergo a fundamental mental shift, moving away from the idea that they are present simply to gain experience and toward a mindset where they expect to qualify and impose their game on opponents.<\/p>\n

Speaking after DENDELE secured wins against QueenConso and SAW in the group stage of the 64-team LAN event, koala outlined a clear internal challenge. He argued that the team needs to change its mentality, and that the qualifier is an opportunity to impose themselves rather than just learn.<\/p>\n

The Brazilian squad entered the closed qualifier with recent mixed results on bigger stages. DENDELE qualified for the IEM Cologne Major but were eliminated in the first phase. More recently, they defeated FURIA during the online portion of the BLAST Bounty before falling to FaZe. These outcomes form the backdrop for koala’s assessment that the team is close to consolidating itself among the best in the region but still requires a final adjustment in their collective thinking.<\/p>\n

Koala pointed to the ongoing integration of maxxkor as a key factor in the team’s development. He noted that despite the player having been with the team for a year, it is only now that maxxkor is truly becoming part of the unit and that the squad is beginning to understand each other better as a whole. The player described a recent breakthrough that has been helping the team progress, while acknowledging that the lack of experience in larger championships continues to weigh heavily.<\/p>\n

A Clear Mandate Against QueenConso and a Test Against SAW<\/h2>\n

DENDELE’s first match of the qualifier pitted them against QueenConso, an opponent koala described as a team with no available footage to study. He characterized the match as one where the obligation was not merely to win but to win comfortably. The player dismissed the fixture as a straightforward contest against a PUG-style side, offering little tactical insight beyond the necessity of a dominant result.<\/p>\n

The winner’s match against SAW presented a different challenge. Koala recalled that the last encounter between the two teams ended in a defeat that eliminated DENDELE from a previous championship, making the Portuguese opponent a respected adversary inside the server. DENDELE secured a 2-0 victory with map scores of 13-10 on Inferno and 13-11 on Anubis. Koala admitted the team made the ending more complicated than necessary, allowing a comfortable 11-6 lead on one map to narrow to 11-10 before closing it out. Despite the tight scoreline, his overall impression was that DENDELE controlled the game, with only a few specific plays giving rounds away to SAW.<\/p>\n

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