- The Russian squad becomes a two-time CCT champion
- They defeated the Kosovar team Bad News Eagles 2-0 at the CCT South Europe Series 3 finals
- Aurora have maintained a very high level throughout 2023
Aurora and Bad News Eagles were both invited directly to the playoffs of the CCT South Europe Series 3, but only one team could emerge victorious from the event.
Aurora Defeat BNE
Russian team Aurora has been one of the best-performing CS:GO teams so far this year. The squad has already had a great series, most recently adding a victory at the CCT South Europe Series 3 to their streak by defeating the Kosovar team Bad News Eagles 2-0.
Both teams had a difficult path before meeting each other at the event’s finals, despite receiving direct invites to the CCT 3’s playoffs. Bad News Eagles had to face Niels Christian “NaToSaphiX” Sillassen’s undefined squad, Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas’s HONORIS, and Copenhagen Flames. Meanwhile, their Kosovar opponents defeated three top-50 teams, namely Monte, 500, and 9INE.
How Have the Teams Been Performing?
Aurora and BNE started their duel on Mirage, which saw both teams trade blows throughout the whole map, forcing the game into overtime. With a score of 22-19, the map promised fans an intense battle between the two teams, only to be disappointed, when BNE flopped the second map, Anubis, 4-16, ending the match with a 2-0 for Aurora.
Mirage started with the Russian squad gaining a big advantage, leading the map with a 14-6 score before BNE woke up and quickly closed the deficit. The two teams then traded rounds with BNE successfully dragging the map to overtime. However, Aurora had just enough left in them to inch forward just a bit and win Mirage 22-19.
Aurora, however, did not plan to be dragged into another overtime on their pick of Anubis. The Russian team absolutely dominated their Kosovar opponents posting 11 rounds on offense before closing things out with five straight on CT. Perhaps BNE’s lack of an organization to support them and help them train is linked to the squad’s somewhat mixed performance it showed here and so far in 2023. Earlier this year there were rumors that GODSENT would sign BNE, but these were dispelled by the team’s manager.
Meanwhile, Aurora has been one of the most in-form sides in tier two CS since the turn of the year. This is evident by them winning not just this CCT South Europe Series, but also the previous one, and qualifying for the BLAST. Paris Major Europe RMR. With an 88.5% win rate over the last three months, Aurora’s defeats came mainly against top-quality opposition like Astralis and OG.
