XANTARES: New mousepad ended stickiness and improved aim

Aurora advanced to the IEM Cologne semifinals after a quarterfinal win over BetBoom at the LANXESS Arena. Turkish rifler Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş credited a new mousepad with removing a sticky surface and improving his aim, linking the change to his performance on Nuke.

He called the Nuke match his best Big Event playoff map in a proper arena and pointed to preparation and calmer nerves as factors in the team’s play. Aurora will face the winner of FURIA and 9z in the semifinals.

Dörtkardeş mentioned recent health problems and said he hopes a short break will aid recovery.

Lately, I’ve had a lot of health issues, so I need a little bit of a vacation break, I hope. If I can [do that], I can be better. Right now, I can say I feel amazing.

On the potential semifinal opponent, he noted Aurora met 9z last week when 9z had a heavy schedule the day before and were not at full strength. XANTARES CS2 expects 9z to perform better against FURIA but described the tournament bracket as favorable for Aurora.

He stated the team aims to reach the final or win the tournament and wants to address minor weaknesses before the semifinal. He emphasized playing for the team and said that if every player feels comfortable and performs at their best, opponents will have fewer chances.