International Aurora squad finds success in debut event, topping StarLadder StarSeries Fall qualifier

Aurora's new-look international roster led by Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski has found success in their debut event, topping the StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 EU Qualifier to secure a spot in the $500,000 European event. The team's road to victory saw them dispatch a number of tier-two European squads while on the other side of the bracket magic, a new Russian squad, dispatched NIP to deny the legacy organization a spot on LAN.

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Aurora's run through the qualifier started on somewhat shaky grounds as they needed three maps to best both K27 and Nemesis, with Nuke being Aurora's ace in the hole in both series. Advancing out of Group A, Aurora's first series in playoffs was against Echo, a Danish squad that previously represented Tricked. This proved to be Aurora's most dominant series of the qualifier as İsmailсan "XANTARES" Dörtkardeş led the charge in a quick 2-0 victory.

StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 Europe Closed Qualifier

Bo3

Aurora

2 - 0

Echo

All maps

Aurora	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 3.0
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş	41 - 21	+20	106.8	75.0%	1.66
Özgür 'woxic' Eker	33 - 22	+11	82.3	85.0%	1.29
Jimi 'Jimpphat' Salo	31 - 21	+10	87.1	80.0%	1.29
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski	24 - 21	+3	60.5	87.5%	1.10
Ali 'Wicadia' Haydar Yalçın	24 - 25	-1	62.5	77.5%	1.00

Echo	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 3.0
Jamie 'leakz' Bugge West Jensen	32 - 30	+2	76.7	67.5%	1.21
Jason 'salazar' Salazar	27 - 29	-2	73.7	60.0%	0.98
Jonas 'Boye' Boye Østergaard	21 - 31	-10	67.9	55.0%	0.80
Nicky 'NickyB' Bruhn	16 - 31	-15	58.2	57.5%	0.76
Oliver 'IceBerg' Berg	12 - 34	-22	40.0	57.5%	0.47

Maps

XANTARES30 kills

Most kills

XANTARES2.04 rating

Best rating

XANTARES2.70 rating

Best t-side

XANTARES1.43 rating

Best ct-side

Inferno Rounds

woxic19 kills

Most kills

woxic1.83 rating

Best rating

woxic1.75 rating

Best t-side

Jimpphat2.75 rating

Best ct-side

Anubis Rounds

In the qualifying match Aurora faced off against another Russian squad in the form of HOTU. Aurora started the series in the lead with a close 13-11 win on Cache before HOTU answered back by winning Aurora's map pick, Anubis, 13-9. With Mirage as the deciding map, XANTARES and Ali "Wicadia" Haydar Yalçın played pivotal roles in another close win, combining for 40 kills as Aurora took the map 13-9.

StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 Europe Closed Qualifier

Bo3

HOTU

1 - 2

Aurora

All maps

HOTU	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 3.0
Dmitry 'mizu' Kondratev	49 - 47	+2	83.2	75.0%	1.19
Kim 'frontales' Argunov	51 - 44	+7	75.1	70.6%	1.11
Aidos 'kade0' Khairzhan	40 - 46	-6	69.9	70.6%	0.99
David 'n0rb3r7' Danielyan	41 - 47	-6	66.4	70.6%	0.95
Aleksandr 'dwushka' Pakhnevich	34 - 44	-10	55.7	66.2%	0.77

Aurora	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 3.0
Jimi 'Jimpphat' Salo	52 - 36	+16	83.3	76.5%	1.27
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş	49 - 44	+5	84.7	75.0%	1.16
Ali 'Wicadia' Haydar Yalçın	54 - 51	+3	85.8	67.6%	1.06
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski	36 - 41	-5	58.3	73.5%	1.00
Özgür 'woxic' Eker	37 - 45	-8	47.9	66.2%	0.74