Aurora must fix mentality after BLAST Open Porto exit

Aurora were knocked out of BLAST Open Porto after a 2-1 series loss to G2. Aurora took the opening map Anubis, while G2 recovered to win Inferno in double overtime and closed the match on Mirage.

On Inferno Aurora held an early lead, with the first half finishing around 7-5. The team built momentum on the T side to about 12-7 before a run of lost rounds allowed G2 to force overtime and eventually win after a prolonged contest.

On Mirage Aurora won the pistol round but surrendered a key Deagle round that disrupted their play. After that round the side struggled to organise calls and G2 pulled ahead to finish the map and the series.

Jimi ‘Jimpphat’ Salo pointed to the team’s mentality and in-game communication as the main issues. ‘We got frustrated so easily,’ he said, adding that silence and a lack of planning after the Deagle loss affected performance. He also noted the Inferno defeat stayed on players’ minds during the decider.

Aurora field a new international roster that includes three Turkish players, among them woxic and XANTARES. Kyxsan serves as the in-game leader with ashh providing secondary calling and support. Jimpphat returned to competition after a break and described having more individual freedom compared with his previous time at MOUZ; he praised kyxsan’s leadership.

Players have shifted match communication from Turkish to English. Jimpphat described the language change as manageable but said it can cause brief delays as players process calls in a non-native language. He judged the language factor as less pressing than the team’s mental resilience.

Aurora’s exit in Porto follows a round-of-16 loss at the Esports World Cup. The squad plans to review the series and work on mental consistency rather than set a fixed timeline for improvement. Jimpphat highlighted the roster’s individual talent and said addressing their mental approach is the next priority.