Aurora upsets Natus Vincere at StarSeries Fall, snaps years-long losing streak

Aurora defeated Natus Vincere at StarSeries Fall, marking a breakthrough moment for the international roster. Ali "Wicadia" Haydar Yalçın emphasized the significance of the win given the team's historical struggles against NAVI. "Our head-to-head is not the best against them, so we are really relieved and happy," he told HLTV.

The victory carries extra weight because Aurora had not beaten NAVI since transitioning away from its full Turkish lineup. "Every single important final or quarters, or whatever, we lost against them, so it's feeling really good," Wicadia said. Natus Vincere had defeated Aurora four times earlier this year, though with Aurora fielding a different roster composition.

The win arrives after several months of roster adjustments. Wicadia acknowledged that Aurora has shown flashes of strong Counter-Strike but struggled to close out matches. "We played some good CS sometimes, but we couldn't finish it. We were almost winning against FURIA and the G2 games," he explained.

The international roster faces communication challenges as the team adapts to players from different countries. Wicadia noted that while everyone on the team speaks English, the transition from years of playing in a Turkish-speaking environment requires ongoing adjustment, particularly in mid-round calls. "I think recently I talked about it and people misunderstood me," he said. "Everyone on the team has good English, and we can communicate daily. But we are playing for... only me for four years, in a Turkish team, and the others for more. So it's hard to sometimes call some stuff in the mid-rounds. But every day, as I said, it's getting better."

Beyond communication, Aurora has identified mental resilience as an area needing improvement. Wicadia confirmed the team is working on staying calm during matches and maintaining composure under pressure. "In-game, we are trying to stay more calm and stuff. I think most of the stuff we do is by ourselves. We work on ourselves, every single one," he said.

Looking ahead, Aurora faces NRG in the tournament's upper bracket semi-final. Wicadia warned against underestimating the opponent, noting that NRG recently defeated MOUZ. "I don't think we should underestimate them, because they just beat MOUZ, and I think they're a great team." When asked about Aurora's potential, Wicadia remained measured. "I don't want to talk big. I think we can be one of the contenders if we keep working hard."