Team Aurora locked in a playoff spot at the Esports World Cup after overcoming M80 and JiJieHao following an opening loss to BIG. After the decisive match, team sniper Özgür "woxic" Eker spoke to HLTV about returning to an international roster, working with the captain, and the community's reaction to the team changes.
woxic emphasized that the team approached the match against JiJieHao with maximum focus, given that the opponent had previously defeated Spirit. Speaking about communication, the sniper admitted that after almost 5–6 years of playing in Turkish, the transition to English proved to be difficult. In the first few days, his brain automatically tried to give position callouts in his native language, but after a month and a half to two months, the team completely adapted to communicating in English.
According to woxic, he shares a common vision of the game with coach Ashley "ash" Battye and captain Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski. Thanks to his experience playing with m0NESY, kyxsan understands the sniper's need for freedom of action to create space on the map. The captain actively supports woxic during rounds, instilling confidence and suggesting the right moments for aggressive peeks.
The transition from a Turkish roster to an international one sparked a negative reaction among local fans. woxic outlined a few points regarding this situation:
- Understandable fan emotions: Fans supported the players as "real brothers" for five years, so their anger over losing a fully Turkish lineup is expected.
- Representing the country: Despite the roster change, woxic, XANTARES, and Wicadia continue to represent their flag and give their all.
- Focus on results: The player temporarily restricted viewing comments on X and stressed that the squad is focused on professional work. In his opinion, winning trophies and achieving strong results will help regain the audience's support.
As a reminder, G2 Coach Explains Replacing SunPayus with r1nkle: Team Lacked Aggression.