After losing their first match at the Esports World Cup to BIG, Aurora quickly adjusted their strategy and went on to defeat both M80 and JiJieHao in succession, securing a spot in the playoffs. Post-match, woxic spoke to HLTV about his collaboration with ash and kyxsan, the backlash from the Turkish community, and the team's adaptation process after transitioning to an international roster.
woxic stated: Sometimes I unconsciously think in Turkish when calling out position information, and then I have to remind myself, no, that's not what I should be saying, I need to speak in English. It was indeed a bit difficult at the beginning, but now that about a month and a half, almost two months have passed, I feel we've gotten used to communicating in English.
This Turkish sniper also mentioned that his thought process during matches is quite similar to that of kyxsan and ash, and the Macedonian in-game leader has helped boost his confidence. Woxic stated: "I can tell that kyxsan has played with m0NESY before, so he somewhat understands that I need a certain degree of freedom to create space for the team and things like that."
woxic added: At the very beginning of a round, if I stay silent for a couple of seconds and say nothing, he’ll say, "Bro, you can play it like this." For example, I notice the player on Mirage’s B site isn’t jumping well and take him out. This kind of thing helps me during the round, and you get the feeling that everyone believes in your play.
Q：Congratulations on reaching the knockout stage of this Esports Club World Cup. I'd like to start by asking about the match just now. From your perspective, it seemed like a fairly convincing victory.
woxic: Yes, and thanks to you for what you said at the beginning. I think this is the result of our training and preparation, but actually none of that matters. We tell each other that we know we're not facing one of the strongest teams in the world right now, but nowadays any team can beat any team, and they had beaten Spirit before coming to play us. So we still gave it our full focus, just like we were playing against Vitality, or one of the top five teams in the world. I think that paid off in the end, and we played some incredible CS. And as the days go by, we're getting more and more used to each other.
Q: Yes, I have discussed this with ash before. He is not necessarily criticizing the team, but is very realistic about where you are currently in terms of communication, etc. For you, this is a return to an international lineup after some time. How does this process feel for you?
woxic: I had almost forgotten this feeling. I think it's been about five or six years for me, not entirely sure—I've been speaking only my native language, and now I'm back in an English-speaking environment. Sometimes my brain subconsciously tries to report location information in Turkish, and then I realize, no, that's not right—I need to say it in English.
The first few days were indeed a bit challenging, but now, roughly a month and a half has passed—nearly two months, I think—and we've gotten used to communicating in English. The same goes for the others, including the remaining Turkish competitors. So, making the abrupt switch from Turkish directly to English was quite a tough transition, but I feel like we're handling it well now. Everyone can understand each other, whether during matches or training. I no longer get the sense that anyone is left confused or unsure about what their teammates are saying.
Q: As a sniper, you have a lot of say in deciding what tactical moves you want to make, especially on the CT side, right? What's it like collaborating with kyxsan on the CT side? How do you handle situations when there are different people giving instructions on the CT side?
woxic: Yes, I can say that both Ash and Kyxsan share a similar mindset to mine. I can tell that Kyxsan had played with m0NESY before, so he somewhat understands that I need a certain degree of freedom to create space for the team. I think his way of thinking is quite helpful for me, and I often share ideas with him—he also gives me some advice.
woxic: At the start of a round, if I'm silent for two or three seconds without saying anything, he'll say, "Bro, you can play like this." For example, if I saw someone at Mirage's B site who was jumping poorly, I'd go and slong him. This kind of thing helps me during rounds, and you get the feeling that everyone believes in your plays. Once you have that confidence, you hold nothing back when you play.
Q: After the transition from the Turkish lineup, local audiences also have their own views on this. I'd like to ask you about it—are the opposing voices from some Turkish fans difficult for you to handle?
woxic: Yes. I can also understand their position, because they have always been supporting us. It's been five years, and they've always seen us as their own brothers, you know? Like real-life brothers. So when everything falls apart and the roster completely becomes an international one, it's natural for them to feel angry and frustrated about it.
But for me, for a long time, I wasn't really watching these things either, maybe for about a year, and I also turned off the comments on social media. Still, I could see those hateful remarks in the comment section of Aurora's social media pages, which is understandable and quite normal. The same thing happened when we moved from Eternal Fire to Aurora. So over time, people gradually get used to it, and once they see us achieving some results, they'll come back to support you again. Whether it's entirely sincere or not doesn't really matter, but at least for now, I, XANTARES, and Wicadia, we're still here.
And I think they should continue to support us because we are still doing everything we can for our name, for our flag. Nothing has changed on that front. Yes, the roster is different, but we are still in the same position we were two or three years ago.
Q: I believe it will also be helpful once the results start to appear.
woxic：Yes, I hope so. For example, if you make it to a grand final and win it, you know, everything will change, and I'm very clear about that. But right now, there are many people who don't want us to achieve any success because the team has changed, and we're no longer an all-Turkish lineup. But that's okay. There will always be people who don't support you, and there will always be people who support you no matter what you do or where you go.
woxic: I don't think it matters that much. We might have people supporting us, or we might not, and it's all the same. We just want to do our jobs professionally, so it doesn't really matter. But I also want to add one more thing: obviously, it's still great to have their support. However, even if anyone is disappointed because of us, we still love them. It's okay.