kyxsan: NiKo's previous comments about me were somewhat taken out of context and not entirely fair.

In the opening match of the EPL S24 playoffs that just concluded, Aurora beat 1WIN 2-0 to advance to the semifinals. After the match, kyxsan spoke to the media on site and responded to the earlier negative comments NiKo had made about him.

Q: Alright, kyxsan, congratulations. How did it feel to play your first arena match with this team?

kyxsan: It feels good. I’d say it was a tough match. Maybe the opponent isn’t at the very highest level. I don’t mean to take anything away from them, but they’re not on the level of teams like Spirit or Vitality. Still, it was a difficult game. I could feel that we were a bit nervous, and I don’t think we played our best, but we did enough to beat them.

Q: How did it feel to come into today's match as the favorites? Will that really help you tomorrow against a stronger team?

kyxsan: It feels different being the favorite, because there’s more pressure and you expect yourselves to win. I still don’t know who we’ll face tomorrow, but if it’s Vitality, I think the match will be easier in a way because we won’t be the favorites. I think the pressure will be on their side, but it will still be a very difficult match because they’re still the best team in the world.

Q: You've been on this team for a few months now. Do you feel like it's finally starting to click when it comes to integrating your system into what was already there?

kyxsan: Yeah, of course. I think we've improved a lot. Now that we have more time, I can implement the style I want us to play. I think everyone likes the way we're playing right now, and everyone feels comfortable, so we just need to keep it going and, in a way, develop and refresh it.

Q: How has it been working with ash? How different are the ways you two see the game? Is it going smoothly?

kyxsan: ash has genuinely surprised me. I think we have really good chemistry. He does a great job preparing the team. He handles a lot of things in-game, mainly on the CT side, but he also gives me some advice on the T side. He’s also very good at keeping the team together and making sure we have the right mindset for these important matches.

Q: Talk to me about that mindset, because it's been a big issue for Aurora for a long time, and now it feels like it's getting better. How do you feel about it?

kyxsan: I'd say it's still a small issue. In some matches, our mentality hasn't been at its best, but I can also say that we're in a much better place than we were two months ago. It's something we work on every day, and I'd say, yeah, we need to keep improving because I feel like it's one of the things that sometimes stops us from playing even better.

Q: XANTARES, and especially woxic, sometimes still have those moments where they tilt when you're filming team content for social media. How do you change players with that much experience? Is it possible to change their mentality this late in their careers?

kyxsan: I think so. Maybe XANTARES is a little older than the others, but he still loves the game. He cares and does everything he can to improve. He plays a lot, and we're working together to find a system that works for everyone. I think he's happy to put in the work and improve in those areas.

Q: Alright. One last question: I want to ask you about those comments from NiKo. He basically said a few things about how feedback was [handled]. I don't know if you've seen those comments. Did you?

kyxsan: I saw some of it.

Q: Do you think that was fair? Did you bring anything you learned in Falcons into how you lead this team, like feedback from the players, feedback from the coach, things like that?

kyxsan: I think what he said was unfair, because maybe it was true, but it only applied to the last month or two. He didn’t mention the first year or everything that happened during it, so I think it was taken a bit out of context, because that wasn’t the full picture of what was going on at Falcons at the time.

But I don't really care too much about it. I'm always happy to take feedback, and you know, I was on Falcons too, and I'm here now. When you play with so many experienced, great players, you can learn something from everyone, so I'm happy to learn from all my former teammates and my current teammates and keep improving.

(In an earlier interview, NiKo expressed dissatisfaction with kyxsan, saying he didn’t treat the other players particularly well and also lacked the kind of self-sacrificing mentality karrigan has, failing to make the game more comfortable for his teammates.)