AUSTIN, TEXAS — For Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli, the heartbreak was visible. After a hard-fought but ultimately unsuccessful series against MOUZ, Turkish side Aurora bowed out of the BLAST.tv Austin Major, finishing 12th-14th. Despite showing flashes of brilliance earlier in the year, their run at the season’s most prestigious event came to a sudden end.
“I’m very sad,” MAJ3R told Pley.gg after the 2-1 defeat. “We made playoffs at every tournament we attended this year, but we failed at the most important one.”
A Short-Lived Major Journey
Aurora’s journey in Austin started with a surprising 13-5 upset win over FaZe on June 12, but that momentum didn’t last long. Losses to FURIA (7-13) and G2 (4-13) quickly pushed them into a do-or-die match against MOUZ, where they fought hard but ultimately lost the series 1-2, falling short of the playoff stage.
The disappointment wasn’t lost on MAJ3R, who acknowledged the team’s underwhelming performance.
“To be honest, this tournament we played bad Counter-Strike, individually and as a team,” he said. “As a leader, I have to take some responsibility. It’s on my shoulders. But I think we failed more as a team this time.”
Fatigue, Format, and Failure
When asked about entering the Major at a later stage compared to teams who started in Stage 1 or 2, MAJ3R downplayed that as a significant factor, despite claims from coaches like Blade (NAVI) and karrigan (FaZe) who praised the benefits of early-stage competition.
“Everyone has their opinion. Of course, teams from Stage 2 had more time on this environment than us, but that’s not the real reason,” he said. “We were just not good enough at this tournament.”
Aurora’s captain also spoke candidly about the challenges of a grueling season filled with travel, shifting time zones, and little time to recover.
“It’s been a good six months overall. We played a lot of Counter-Strike, showed the real face of Aurora, and improved,” he said. “But today was a loss, and we have to learn from that. It’s all about bouncing back.”
Looking Ahead
Despite the setback, Aurora is likely to remain active throughout the rest of 2025. The team is currently ranked in the top 6 or 7 according to Valve’s regional standing, which puts them in position for automatic invitations to several major events later this year.
“I don’t know exactly what tournaments management will pick, but we’ll play wherever they send us,” MAJ3R said. “We’re professionals, and this is what we love.”
For now, though, the focus is on identifying what went wrong in Austin — both tactically and mentally — and finding a way to reset.
“We still have a lot of work to do. On BO1s we lost to G2 and FURIA, and we had chances to win. We need to fix our map pool, maybe work on our preparation,” MAJ3R concluded. “It wasn’t enough.”
You can see the full interview with the Aurora IGL down below.
