Aurora bench SELLTER after RMR failure

The Russian team pulled the trigger on changes after a disappointing run in the closed qualifiers.

Aurora have removed Ivan "⁠SELLTER⁠" Miroshnikov from the starting lineup, the Serbian organization has announced. The decision comes just days after the team failed to qualify for the European RMR tournaments leading to PGL Major Copenhagen.

The Russian outfit was among the first teams to crash out of the closed qualifiers for the RMRs following defeats to IKLA, ex-ThunderFlash and FORZE — three teams that were below them in the rankings. The disappointment was made greater by the fact that Aurora had been at the door of the BLAST Paris Major before losing in the final round of the RMRs.

“The final result at the RMR [qualifier] could not go unnoticed by us,” Aurora said in a statement. “In such moments, the team needs new willful decisions.”

SELLTER has been with Aurora since January 2023, when he was signed to replace Aleksandr "⁠KaiR0N-⁠" Anashkin. He averaged a 1.00 rating during his year on the team, posting above-average numbers on 53 percent of the maps that he played.

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Aurora will be hoping that a roster change will provide a jolt of energy to the team, which has failed to live up to the hype generated by Denis "⁠deko⁠" Zhukov’s signing in November. The Russian star is averaging a team-high 1.19 rating with the squad.

“Vanya [SELLTER] has put a lot of effort into building us as a team,” Aurora said. “A lot of things have been experienced, but we should not stop there — failures are only a reason for new achievements. We hope that this decision will give each of us new motivation.”

With this move, Aurora now have:

Viktor "⁠Lack1⁠" Boldyrev
Aleksandr "⁠KENSI⁠" Gurkin
Evgeny "⁠Norwi⁠" Ermolin
Denis "⁠deko⁠" Zhukov

Dmitry "⁠hooch⁠" Bogdanov (coach)

Vladislav "⁠lattykk⁠" Vydrin (benched)
Ivan "⁠SELLTER⁠" Miroshnikov (benched)