PGL Astana 2025Aurora defeat NIP to enter 2-1 pool in Astana
The Turkish side is one victory away from the playoffs after a hard-fought win on day three.
Aurora have entered the 2-1 Swiss pool at PGL Astana 2025 following a 2-1 win against Ninjas in Pyjamas, who must now fight for survival and win two elimination series to reach the playoffs of the $1.25m event.
Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dörtkardeş and Ali "Wicadia" Haydar Yalçın were the heroes for Aurora, combining for 115 frags as the Turkish side came out on top of a scrappy series in which the result was clearly better than the performance for the ex-Eternal Fire team.
Aurora got back to winning ways on Anubis after the shocking overtime loss to HOTU on their home map, but it was still a messy game of Counter-Strike that was too close for comfort for Engin "MAJ3R" Küpeli's troops.
Ninjas in Pyjamas came back from 5-2 down on the offense and took a three-round lead after a strong start to their CT side, but then Wicadia rescued his team with a quick 3K in a 2v4 situation. That round turned the game on its head as it breathed new life into the Turkish side, who went on a 6-0 run to secure the map.
Ninjas in Pyjamas hit back on Train, their comfort pick in this tournament, with stellar performances from Rasmus "sjuush" Beck and Artem "r1nkle" Moroz, who combined for 51 frags as the team ran out 13-9 winners.
The Danish veteran racked up 18 frags on the T side as the Ninjas cruised to a commanding 9-3 lead. Aurora strung three together after the side switch before the game entered a pattern which saw rounds traded constantly.
Aurora came out on Inferno looking a different side and raced to a 9-3 lead after a dominant CT performance. Ninjas in Pyjamas still attempted a response, but their struggles against low buys proved their undoing as the Turkish side put the game to bed after some chaotic rounds.
  Ninjas in Pyjamas |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 - 45 | +2.68% | 92.0 | 78.8% | 1.17 | |
| 53 - 40 | +2.41% | 75.2 | 66.7% | 1.08 | |
| 40 - 47 | -2.13% | 73.8 | 65.2% | 0.97 | |
| 36 - 51 | -1.07% | 65.8 | 68.2% | 0.91 | |
| 38 - 48 | -5.40% | 61.3 | 69.7% | 0.79 |
 Aurora |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 - 44 | +3.86% | 100.3 | 78.8% | 1.39 | |
| 59 - 43 | +3.51% | 89.0 | 75.8% | 1.32 | |
| 41 - 42 | +1.04% | 70.1 | 75.8% | 1.02 | |
| 40 - 43 | -0.69% | 67.8 | 71.2% | 0.94 | |
| 34 - 46 | -4.39% | 55.1 | 78.8% | 0.83 |
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş
Richard 'Xizt' Landström
Aidos 'kade0' Khairzhan
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