Aurora coach Battye: international roster struggled in LAN debut

Aurora lost a best-of-one to BIG in their Esports World Cup opener in Barcelona. Coach Ashley ‘ash’ Battye blamed a mix of cultures and the pressure of the squad’s first LAN together for poor execution and a string of missed rounds, a result that sent Aurora to the lower bracket.

The roster rework followed the departure of coach Fabre for personal reasons. Aurora retained a Turkish core and added Damjan ‘kyxsan’ Stoilkovski as in-game leader and Jimi ‘Jimpphat’ Salo as an offensive option. Veteran MAJ3R stepped back from the starting lineup. Battye and club management negotiated the signings and targeted the two newcomers.

Battye described the main challenge as integrating different languages, playing styles and a new IGL structure. ‘That’s three or four cultures coming together at the same time,’ Battye noted, and he said he has sometimes held back comments while trying to enforce the new system.

He criticized the team’s decision-making under LAN conditions, pointing to missed free kills, rounds lost without clear plans and problems with the CT-side economy. ‘I can’t believe how many rounds we kind of threw away, how many free kills we missed as well,’ Battye added, contrasting the match with practice sessions that he described as ‘really good.’

Battye highlighted kyxsan’s leadership and attention to detail, calling him a clear communicator with a strong feel for the map. He contrasted kyxsan’s style with the previous approach under MAJ3R, which relied more on set plays that required players to remember specific roles.

On Jimi ‘Jimpphat’ Salo, Battye pointed to the player’s CT-side experience and said the team is working to return him to a larger offensive role after supportive positions late in his MOUZ tenure. ‘In practice he’s been absolutely outstanding,’ Battye noted, while adding that translating that practice form into official matches may take time.

Aurora reached the event after mixed online results, including an early exit at BLAST Bounty to FOKUS and a successful run through the StarSeries closed qualifier. BIG entered the match with recent LAN and qualifier experience, having advanced through a last-chance qualifier.

The team will play in the lower bracket and must win elimination matches to progress. Battye acknowledged the start of the project will be uneven as players adjust to language and system changes and urged the squad to convert their practice performance into results on LAN.