Ash backs Wicadia for top 20 this year

Aurora coach Ashley “ash” Battye believes Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalçın can reach the top 20 this year after Aurora defeated 9z 2-0 in the Thunderpick World Championship quarterfinals. Aurora will face FURIA in the semifinals.

Wicadia helped Aurora win four consecutive maps after 9z defeated the team in the opening match. Aurora won Cache 13-11 and Inferno 13-7 in the rematch.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like this, and I think that maybe he gets top 20 this year, maybe not, but there’s potential there to be significantly more than that,” ash said. “The mentality change for the team from the first month maybe of joining to now, completely different player.”

Aurora gives Wicadia freedom to make decisions during rounds. The 19-year-old does not respond well to being directed too closely, while his game sense allows the team to accept occasional unpredictable plays.

“We’re trying to trust him as much as possible because he’s a guy who doesn’t want to be told what to do so much,” ash said. “He needs a bit of freedom and decision-making, so sometimes it looks a little strange, but his game sense is just unbelievable at times.”

The coach described Aurora’s communication on Cache as one of its weakest performances. The team was nervous after its earlier loss to 9z, but closed out the map. On Inferno, Aurora handled 9z’s aggressive moves through smoke grenades more effectively.

9z had won Inferno and Nuke in the teams’ opening match. Aurora’s poor showing followed travel from the ESL Pro League third-place match, limited rest and illness, although ash did not treat those factors as a full excuse.

“We just played terribly,” ash said. “It was just terrible, probably the worst we could possibly play.”

Aurora finished second at StarSeries and third at ESL Pro League before reaching the Thunderpick World Championship semifinals. The team has had limited practice time in recent months and is working on improving its consistency.

“What we’re looking for right now is just a little bit more consistency,” ash said. “You can see that on our worst day, there’s still a lot of improvements to make.”

FURIA defeated Aurora at EMC, while Aurora won the teams’ meeting at ESL Pro League. The semifinal will be their third recent match. Ash described FURIA as a team capable of winning tournaments and said Aurora would need its best performance.

Aurora’s players now discuss problems more openly, according to the coach. He added that the Major would test whether the team could perform better on difficult days, particularly after several months with little practice.

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