Can Aurora overcome stage jitters and impress in the PGL Astana Playoffs?

It can be tough to know what to make of Aurora. At the start of the year, it was expected that the Turkish roster would push on and become a real contender at the top of the CS2 scene under the Eternal Fire banner. Five months into 2025, it hasn’t quite panned out that way, neither before nor after their move to a new organization, with mixed results relegating the once-promising team to consistent Quarter-Final runs.

As we approach the Quarter-Finals of PGL Astana 2025, Aurora find themselves in familiar territory. They qualified from the Group Stage by the skin of their teeth, needing all five series to lock down their spot. Still, ugly or not, they made it through. Now, they have an excellent opportunity to capitalize on a relatively weak field and secure their first trophy in front of an expectant crowd in Astana. Their biggest enemies are themselves, having been a team notorious for suffering massive crashes in form on big stages.

Lack of a bootcamp may be a blessing in disguise

Coming into PGL Astana, IGL MAJ3R recently revealed that a boot camp was planned for the team. A 6.2-magnitude earthquake in the heart of Istanbul quashed those plans, while visa issues for the upcoming BLAST.tv Austin Major left some players on the team needing to stay in Indonesia for five days prior to the event. All in all, it was about as far from ideal circumstances as you could possibly imagine for playing a Counter-Strike tournament in top shape.

Aurora came into PGL Astana 2025 cold, although that could work in their favor. Warming up as the tournament progresses isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and if they’ve got the worst of their form out of the way in the first few matches, there’s a world in which Aurora peak throughout the Playoffs.

The MongolZ are a tough first opponent, but Aurora have the chance for revenge

Aurora face an admittedly tough draw. The MongolZ are a nightmare first opponent, although they’re two teams that most would put on about the same level in terms of quality. Two rosters that had the promise to win trophies in 2025, but have yet to deliver. Still, it’s a unique opportunity for Aurora to exact revenge on the Mongolian team. The last time these teams played one another was in the Quarter-Finals of IEM Katowice 2025 (under the Eternal Fire banner), a series that The MongolZ won very comfortably.

If there’s a time and place for Aurora to show they’ve truly grown as a team, it’s right now. What better statement could they possibly make than turning the tables on The MongolZ and locking in their third Semi-Finals berth of the year? They would then face the winner of NAVI vs. Astralis, and not to get ahead of myself, but either of those teams are totally beatable for Aurora. Suddenly, they’re dreaming of silverware.

Stage jitters across the board are clearly a problem, but the real key will be unlocking XANTARES. At his best, he’s undeniably a top ten rifler in the world, but his form in elimination matches across 2025 has not been pretty. Matches Aurora and Eternal Fire should have won, but lost because he couldn’t find an extra 10%. If they can find the best version of XANTARES in front of the crowd at PGL Astana 2025, then Aurora might just be in with a real chance of winning the whole thing.