kyxsan: “In practice I see a different team” after Aurora’s G2 collapse

Aurora’s problem is not a lack of ideas. According to Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski, it is getting those ideas to survive contact with an official server.

The Macedonian in-game leader was openly frustrated after Aurora began BLAST Open Porto 2026 with a 0-2 loss to G2, a series that exposed the gap between what the month-old international roster is producing in practice and what it can reproduce under match pressure. That contrast was especially clear on Anubis, where Aurora moved within one round of tying the series before surrendering nine consecutive rounds and losing 12-16.

For kyxsan, the result itself was not the biggest concern. G2 entered the matchup as an established top-level opponent, while Aurora are still rebuilding their system around a new IGL, a new coach and Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo. What bothered him was how little the team resembled its practice version once the match began.

“I think we played terrible,” kyxsan said after the defeat.

That assessment now gives Aurora a clear short-term task: turn their promising scrim form into something repeatable before their BLAST Open run ends in Copenhagen.

Quick Context

Detail	Information
Player	Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski
Team	Aurora
Role	In-game leader / rifler
Event	BLAST Open Porto 2026
Interview type	Post-match / IGL leadership interview
Match	Aurora vs G2
Result	G2 won 2-0
Maps	Inferno 13-5, Anubis 16-12
Next opponent	DENDELE
Main storyline	Aurora are struggling to reproduce their practice level in official matches

Aurora are currently No. 11 in the HLTV world ranking, with kyxsan leading XANTARES, woxic, Wicadia and Jimpphat under head coach Ashley “ash” Battye. The international version of the roster was completed in July when kyxsan arrived from Falcons after Aurora moved on from MAJ3R and soulfly and added Jimpphat and ash.

Aurora’s practice problem has followed them into another LAN

The most important part of kyxsan’s interview was not tactical detail about G2. It was his admission that Aurora are still becoming different players when officials begin.

The IGL described practice as productive and said the team has made substantial progress since its first week together. He also indicated that the players and coaching staff have bought into the direction he wants to take the roster.

The issue is execution.

Against G2, Aurora repeatedly gave up opening advantages on Anubis, leaving themselves to play too many rounds from a disadvantage. kyxsan felt that G2 initially surprised them with some of their approaches, but the more troubling part was Aurora’s inability to adapt in the way they usually manage during practice.

His frustration can be reduced to one line: “In practice I see a different team.”

It is also not the first time this version of Aurora has confronted the same problem. During the Esports World Cup, ash was already unhappy with mistakes and decision-making that had not been appearing in practice. Aurora recovered from their opening difficulties to beat M80 and JiJieHao, but their run ended against FURIA in the round of 16.

That makes kyxsan’s comments more significant than a routine reaction to one bad series. The disconnect has now appeared across multiple events.

The Anubis collapse summed up Aurora’s current instability

Inferno gave Aurora little to work with. G2 controlled the opening map 13-5 and moved comfortably within one map of the series.

Anubis was different.

Aurora reached a 12-7 lead on their own pick and appeared ready to force Mirage, only for the series to change completely. G2 won nine rounds in succession, including all four overtime rounds, to close the map 16-12.

Artem “r1nkle” Moroz was central to the comeback. G2’s new AWPer finished Anubis with 32 kills and a 1.86 rating, including a dominant 23-4 CT-side performance. Across the series, he recorded 47 kills and a 1.56 rating.

Aurora, by comparison, never found a consistent individual engine. kyxsan actually finished as his team’s highest-rated player in the series at 1.07, while the rest of the lineup ended below a 1.00 rating.

The manner of the defeat was particularly uncomfortable given what happened one week earlier against FURIA at the Esports World Cup. Aurora led Mirage 9-3 in that deciding map before FURIA produced ten consecutive CT rounds to win 13-9 and eliminate them.

Two major late-map collapses in quick succession do not prove a single underlying problem, but they give more weight to kyxsan’s concerns about transferring practice habits into high-pressure rounds.

kyxsan is rebuilding Aurora rather than inheriting the old system

There is another important part of the interview: kyxsan is not simply calling inside the previous Aurora structure.

The organization changed direction during the summer. MAJ3R and soulfly left the active lineup, Jimpphat arrived from MOUZ, ash took over as coach and kyxsan joined from Falcons to lead Aurora’s transition toward a more international setup.

That means several layers of the team are changing simultaneously.

kyxsan explained that he and ash hold the main responsibility for the broader system, while XANTARES contributes heavily to the CT side. Players are still encouraged to suggest moves, reactions and ideas, but the final decisions sit with the IGL and coach — “the last word is on me and ashhh.”

That approach fits the personnel Aurora have assembled. XANTARES and woxic bring years of experience together, Wicadia already understands the Turkish core, while Jimpphat and kyxsan have been brought in from different tactical environments.

The challenge is turning those backgrounds into one functioning system rather than forcing every player into the previous Aurora model.

Time is part of the equation — but expectations have not disappeared

kyxsan was reluctant to attach a precise deadline to Aurora’s development.

The team had only been together for roughly a month at the time of the interview, and BLAST Open Porto is just its second LAN with the new lineup. The playbook is still being expanded, players are adapting at different speeds and the packed tournament calendar reduces the amount of uninterrupted theory and practice time available.

At the same time, Aurora cannot operate without expectations.

The previous Turkish lineup established the organization as a genuine tier-one threat and reached the semi-finals of the IEM Cologne Major 2026 before the summer rebuild. The current roster also contains proven individual quality in XANTARES, woxic and Jimpphat.

kyxsan therefore sees the next few months as a reasonable window in which Aurora should begin approaching the level they believe exists in practice.

His job is complicated by the fact that he has already experienced a project where patience disappeared faster than expected.

The Falcons experience changed kyxsan’s perspective on pressure

Before joining Aurora, kyxsan spent more than a year leading Falcons. His tenure included victory at PGL Bucharest, but he was eventually benched as the organization brought in Finn “karrigan” Andersen before the IEM Cologne Major.

After his removal, kyxsan said he had expected more time to develop the Falcons project and described the decision as unfair, though he stressed there was no bad blood.

That experience provides useful context for his comments about Aurora.

He considers his current role somewhat less demanding in terms of external expectation than the Falcons job, but he is under no illusion that Aurora can spend months losing without scrutiny. The organization’s previous results created a benchmark, and the new roster was built with experienced tier-one players rather than as a long-term prospect project.

What has changed is the starting point. With Aurora, kyxsan has been brought in specifically to establish a new direction alongside ash.

The old Aurora-G2 head-to-head is now largely irrelevant

Aurora’s defeat also reversed what looked like a strong recent organizational record against G2.

At the IEM Cologne Major in June, Aurora beat G2 2-0, winning Overpass 13-8 and Anubis 13-7. The teams had also met earlier in the year, with Aurora taking both maps in their ESL Pro League encounter.

Those results require a major caveat.

The Aurora lineup that beat G2 in Cologne featured MAJ3R and soulfly rather than kyxsan and Jimpphat. G2 were also using SunPayus instead of r1nkle.

The Porto matchup was therefore much closer to a first meaningful test between two remodeled teams than a continuation of the previous head-to-head. G2 adapted faster on the day, particularly once r1nkle took control of Anubis.

Recent results show both sides of the new Aurora

Aurora’s first month with kyxsan has been difficult to evaluate because the results have rarely followed a straight line.

They suffered an early exit from BLAST Bounty Season 2 after a 1-2 loss to FOKUS, but then secured qualification for StarLadder StarSeries Fall with wins over K27, Nemesis, Echo and HOTU.

At the Esports World Cup, they recovered from an opening best-of-one defeat against BIG by beating M80 and JiJieHao 2-0. The run ended against FURIA after a competitive three-map series and the damaging Mirage comeback.

That sequence helps explain kyxsan’s frustration.

Aurora have already shown that this roster can play convincing Counter-Strike. What they have not shown is that they can access that level consistently.

Interesting Facts

• kyxsan joined Aurora from Falcons on July 8, completing the organization’s summer rebuild.
• Jimpphat and coach ash were the other major additions, replacing parts of Aurora’s previous Turkish setup.
• Aurora are No. 11 in the current HLTV world ranking.
• kyxsan has a 0.98 Rating 3.0 across his first 24 maps with Aurora, while Jimpphat is at 1.11 over the same team period.
• The G2 defeat was Aurora’s second consecutive LAN loss after their 1-2 elimination against FURIA at the Esports World Cup.

What comes next for Aurora?

There is no time for Aurora to solve everything kyxsan discussed.

After dropping their BLAST Open opener, they move into the Group A lower bracket and will face DENDELE on August 28. The Brazilian side also lost its opening match, falling 0-2 to Spirit on Ancient and Cache.

BLAST Open uses two eight-team double-elimination groups, with only six teams eventually advancing to the playoffs in Porto. Aurora therefore have no margin for another defeat in the lower bracket.

The immediate benchmark does not need to be a completely finished tactical system. It is much simpler: Aurora need to look more like the team kyxsan sees every day in practice.

Against DENDELE, they get their first chance to prove that the gap is beginning to close.

FAQ

Who is kyxsan?

Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski is a North Macedonian Counter-Strike in-game leader who currently captains Aurora. He previously played for Falcons and HEROIC.

What did kyxsan say after Aurora lost to G2?

His main concern was that Aurora performed substantially worse than they do in practice. He believes the new roster still needs time to transfer its ideas, communication and preparation into official matches.

What happened in Aurora vs G2?

G2 won the BLAST Open Porto 2026 opener 2-0, taking Inferno 13-5 before recovering from a 12-7 deficit to win Anubis 16-12.

Who does Aurora play next?

Aurora will face DENDELE in the BLAST Open Porto Group A lower bracket on August 28.

Have Aurora and G2 played before?

Yes. The previous Aurora roster beat G2 2-0 at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, but both teams have since changed players, limiting the relevance of that earlier result.