MAJ3R: Old 1.6 Aim Returned After Aurora Beat G2

Aurora captain Engin ‘MAJ3R’ Küpeli credited a return of his old ‘1.6’ aim after the team beat G2 2-0 on day three of the IEM Cologne Major in Cologne. The result advanced Aurora in the upper bracket and left the team one win from the Major playoffs.

Küpeli produced steady individual performances across both maps and said the squad improved its preparation after a mixed day earlier in the event, when Aurora beat Spirit on Dust2 but lost the following maps.

On Anubis Aurora balanced its CT side to a 6-6 split after a prior 10-2 CT deficit, which improved their chances going into the T rounds. On Dust2 Küpeli described a simple tactical change: a single push down Long exposed a gap in G2’s setup that the team repeated to gather information and exploit the opening. “I just pushed Long one time and I saw there was a gap on the map, and they didn’t see me, so I did it multiple times to get more information and it paid off,” he said.

Küpeli reported that his aim felt like it had returned to earlier levels. “I felt really good… I got back to my 1.6 ability,” he said, and added that he expects all players, including in-game leaders, to contribute numbers for the team to succeed.

On leadership and tactics he described a straightforward method: calling sequences to win rounds and avoiding overthinking mid-round. “My only goal is to win right now, and I’m doing this,” Küpeli added.

Addressing off-season and transfer talk, Küpeli reiterated that he has no information on roster changes, is under contract with Aurora and is concentrating on the present and the Major.

Aurora will play one more match to try to secure a spot in the playoffs. Küpeli said the team aims to carry the form they showed on Dust2 and Anubis into that next game.