kyxsan on Aurora Gaming: “We’ve put in a lot of work and are now heading in the right direction.”
Aurora Gaming captain Damian “kyxsan” Stoilkovski spoke in an interview at the Esports World Cup 2026 about his move to the new team, as well as reflecting on working with coach Ashley “ash” Batty and the Turkish players’ adaptation to the international roster.
On the transfer to Aurora Gaming
Negotiations with Aurora dragged on for a long time—I signed the contract toward the end of the summer break. Although my move wasn’t a surprise, everything was finalized at the last minute.
On working with ash
We spoke several times before I joined Aurora. ash reached out to me shortly after the Falcons benched me. Right from our first call, I realized that our views on CS are very similar. We discussed the team’s playstyle and many other aspects. It’s a pleasure to work with ash—we make a great team.
On the Turkish players’ adaptation to the international roster
It wasn’t easy for the guys to adjust. They were used to speaking Turkish and playing in their own style. Now they’re on a new team with a different approach to CS. We faced a lot of challenges right from the start. For example, Wicadia had never played on an international roster before—at times, he would remain silent and feel lost because of the language barrier. I think we’ve put in a lot of work and are now moving in the right direction.
Yesterday, Aurora Gaming lost to BIG 9–13 in their debut match at the Esports World Cup 2026 CS2 tournament and dropped to the lower bracket. Right now, kyxsan’s team is facing off against M80 in a do-or-die match to stay in the tournament.
Photo: Damian “kyxsan” Stoilkovski.
