MinD_ContRoL on their elimination from EWC 2026: “We had trouble figuring out who should be handling the picks.”
REKONIX coach Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Borislav Ivanov, in an interview at the Esports World Cup 2026 following the team’s elimination from the tournament, spoke about their first victory in the group stage, discussed the issues the roster faced, and reflected on the emotions surrounding their losses.
On the victory over Team Nemesis
It was great to finally get a win. Unfortunately, it happened at the very end of the tournament. I think the guys felt less pressure once they were already out. And I think that showed in their play.
On draft issues
We had a bit of a misunderstanding about who should handle the picks: Varizh was drafting at the start, and I wasn’t confident at the beginning because this was my first LAN tournament with them. So I felt a bit of pressure to take on the role of captain. And after we lost the fourth match, I thought: we need to change something, try something new. So I took over the draft, though I was still nervous.
I had ideas, but I couldn’t put them into practice. I worried that the players might not like them or that they wouldn’t be able to execute them. But those were just silly fears that I needed to let go of. And today, I think I was able to do just that.
On Emotions
It hurts less when we lose. I can be more rational in the face of defeat and understand why we’re actually losing, rather than giving in to my emotions.
As an offlaner, I’d always either blame the “four” heavily or, sometimes, myself. If I died for the fifth time, I had no excuse, or I’d just blame the draft. And that was almost always emotional.
But as a coach—I’m never emotional. I’m always objective. Except for the game against MOUZ. I don’t know—I really didn’t like our pick of Gyrocopter, but I knew we could win with it.
REKONIX exited the 2026 Esports World Cup after being eliminated in the group stage with 4 losses and 1 win. The team finished in 17th–20th place and earned $10,000. The Dota 2 World Championship is taking place July 7–19 in Paris, the capital of France.
Photo by Bart Oerbekke, ESL.
