Aurora's star sniper Özgür "woxic" Eker has shared insights into his transition back to international competition after years of playing on Turkish-speaking rosters.
Following Aurora's successful run to the Esports World Cup playoffs—bouncing back from an initial loss to BIG with victories over M80 and JiJieHao—woxic discussed the challenges of switching back to English communication after half a decade.
"After five or six years of speaking my mother language and coming back to English, sometimes my brain wants to give Turkish callouts," woxic explained. "I have to tell myself, 'No, that's not right. I need the English one.'" The adjustment proved difficult initially, but after nearly two months, the entire squad has adapted to communicating in English.
The AWPer praised his new leadership duo, particularly in-game leader Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski, whose experience working with stars like m0NESY has helped woxic flourish. "He understands I need freedom to create space," woxic noted. "If I'm quiet for a few seconds at round start, he'll encourage me—'Bro, you can do this. I see him jumping poorly on B Mirage. Go get him.' That confidence boost matters."
Regarding backlash from Turkish fans upset about the international roster change, woxic showed understanding. "They supported us for five years, saw us as brothers. When everything became international, they got angry—that's normal." He's stopped reading social media comments but remains committed. "XANTARES, Wicadia and I are still here representing our flag. Nothing changed in that regard."
The sniper believes results will eventually win supporters back, though he acknowledges some fans may never accept the roster shift. "There will always be people who don't support you, and always people who do no matter what. We just want to work professionally," he concluded, adding warmth toward disappointed fans: "If someone feels heartbroken toward us, we still love them."
