
Aurora Gaming coach Ashley “ash” Batty and M80 sniper Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich shared their pre-match thoughts in an interview at BLAST Open Porto 2026.
ash noted that the current state of the pro scene is such that any Tier 1 roster can lose to a weaker team:
If you look at the teams’ current form and their results, it’s hard to say for sure who will win. We’ve already seen how top teams can lose to practically any opponent. We need to keep that in mind, especially considering that we ourselves are, in essence, a new roster.
For his part, M80 sniper Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich assessed his team’s recent results and highlighted the squad’s issues:
We’ve been having some problems lately. After an excellent performance at DraculaN Season 6—which we really needed—we haven’t shown anything special since. We’re holding ourselves back. Even in the matches we’ve lost, we’ve had good rounds, but then we make mistakes at crucial moments. Right now, we’re focused on avoiding such slip-ups and working on our mistakes.
In addition, slaxz- explained how assistant coach Luca “Munstur” Ioaniciu completely restructured the team’s workflow:
He’s constantly changing things, so we’re literally starting from scratch. The entire team dynamic is shifting, a lot of new elements are emerging, and now we’re working differently. Before, everyone was constantly discussing mistakes, getting bogged down in details, and arguing with each other. Now we’re more focused on results: the analyst and the coach give us instructions, and we try to listen to them. There’s less arguing and chaos—now one person speaks up and expresses their opinion. Our gameplay has also become more structured. The team needed all of this, although such changes can, of course, be exhausting at times.
Earlier, M80 wrapped up their run at BLAST Open Porto 2026 with a 0–2 loss to Aurora Gaming. The North American team lost on Dust2 (3–13) and Inferno (5–13). For its part, Aurora Gaming will continue its fight for a spot in the playoffs in the Group A lower bracket final, where it will face G2 Esports.
Photo: Esports Foundation.