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| Aurora Gaming PH finally entered the M-Series KO phase. Moonton |
MANILA—Aurora Gaming Philippines secured its place in the knockout stage of the M7 World Championship after sweeping Team Spirit, 2-0, in a crucial Swiss Stage encounter on Thursday, January 15, at the XO Hall, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Anton "Hiko" Pak, piloting Claude and showing clear adjustments from a difficult start to the Swiss Stage, handed Team Spirit early momentum after picking up two kills in the opening minutes.
Kemiran "Sunset Lover" Kochkarov on Pharsa also responded with a strong early-game presence, tallying a 4/0/3 KDA before the first Lord was taken at the 10:38 mark.
However, RORA still gained control in the first major clash by eliminating Alexander "Oneshot" Sharkov on Nolan, Stanislav "Sawo" Reshniak on Kalea, and KidBomba on Gloo.
Still, Hiko quickly struck back with a Flicker into Blazing Duet to secure two return kills.
At the 15-minute Lord dance, Team Spirit briefly seized the advantage as Hiko's damage output swung the fight in their favor, allowing TS to secure the objective.
Despite conceding the Lord, RORA punished a critical misplay from Team Spirit, wiping out the Dragons and closing out Game 1 at the 20:15 mark.
Team Spirit drew first blood in the second game following a clash near the Turtle pit, where KidBomba's Uranus claimed kills on Edward Dapadap's Lapu-Lapu and Yue's Zhuxin.
RORA answered emphatically in the second Turtle fight, securing the objective and taking down four members of Team Spirit to swing momentum back to their side.
Even while playing from behind, Oneshot on Guinevere pulled off a timely Lord steal with a Spatial Migration and Retribution combination just before the 11-minute mark.
Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo on Zhuxin then caught out Oneshot, Sawo, and Hiko in a decisive consecutive setup, enabling RORA to secure the next Lord and establish map control.
Dylan "Light" Catipon sealed the series when his Chip caught Hiko's Karrie, triggering a collapse that added three more casualties and allowed RORA to end the game at 17:56.
With the sweep, RORA knocked down Team Spirit to the 2-2 bracket and officially advanced to the M7 knockout stage, joining Alter Ego, Selangor Red Giants, and their sister team Aurora Gaming Turkey.
