TI13 Aurora team profile: Finding the perfect Nether Swap

Aurora is one of the few organisations that will get to make their debut on The International stage this year.

In the post TI12 shuffle from last year, Aurora made their entrance into the Dota 2 scene by signing almost the entire roster of Talon Esports. The only player who didn’t make the switch was Rafli "Mikoto" Rahman, who went for an extended break and returned just ahead of the TI qualifiers this year. In his place, Aurora would go sign Armel "Armel" Tabios, a true veteran of the scene and one of the best mid laners SEA has offered.

However, the new year brought a long trail of complications for Aurora. They encountered visa issues right from the first tournament of the year, BetBoom Dacha, where they were ready to play with a stand-in if their captain, Anucha "Jabz" Jirawong, would not have arrived eight hours before their first match. That was also the first and last tournament that they played with Armel, who unfortunately had to fly back home due to a family emergency right after the team was eliminated.

In the event aftermath, it became clear that Armel couldn’t return anytime soon and Aurora had to look for other options, and when they found someone, another unfortunate event occurred and they arrived at DreamLeague Season 22 in March of this year, with a stand-in for the stand-in.

Nonetheless, they made it to top 8 with Artem "lorenof" Melnick substituting and that solidified their relationship. Immediately after the tournament, he became a full member of the team and the hard work towards TI13 began.

Aurora roster

Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon
Artem “Lorenof” Melnick
Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong
Worawit “Q” Mekchai
Chon Kien “Oli” Chan

What changed

Lorenof has just a few years of competitive play under his belt, and up until Aurora, his experience was mostly built with Eastern European teams. After Gambit, with whom he got to play at AniMajor in 2021, Aurora is the second big team for Lorenof, and the first team outside Europe. He joined his teammates in Malaysia at the Aurora bootcamp ahead of DreamLeague Season 23, another event where they would place top 8, and has become the main priority in Aurora’s draft and overall strategies.

“He is really important for us; he is very similar to how Mikoto was for us last year,” 23Savage said in an interview with PGL at Wallachia Season 1, adding that he is a really “try-hard type of player and also someone very easy to work with.”

Aurora’s most successful hero pairings before TI13

It took Aurora a few good months to redefine their gameplay. During the first tournament with Lorenof, they had to figure out how to stabilise their side lanes, while also securing a good start for their mid-laner. Once that was fixed and they knew how to hit certain timings, Aurora became one of the strongest teams in the early game.

Usually, they would build a huge lead that they would almost always throw it away in the mid-stage of the game. They are probably the team that had to put in the most hard work this year in figuring out how to match the top teams in terms of playstyle. Itemization and team fight engagements were the main aspects that they had to sort out before TI13.

Gearing up for TI13

A complete shift of the meta happened with the arrival of 7.37 patch. Fortunately for the offlane, things are still pretty much the same in the sense that aura stacking is still probably the most viable strategy, but the tempo of the game has changed, which might call for Jabz to bring back some of his old Enigma and even look at what other heroes can he bring out for early pushes and team fights. He already tested Visage at the recently concluded Fissure Universe: Episode 3 tourney.

Oli and Q seem to be busy practicing Sniper, Gyrocopter, Weaver, and Muerta, which might be an indicator that besides Windranger carry, 23Savage is not all sold out on the ranged carry meta. He already tested Void Spirit at the same Fissure event, but with no success, and it won’t be surprising to see him stick with some of his comfort picks such as Morphling, Faceless Void or Naga Siren.

Except for Lorenof, who joined them in March, the entire Aurora line-up has a lot of experience together and is already past any chemistry or communication issues. The team’s foundation has been playing together for nearly two years and has experienced the TI pressure together before. They have in SunBhie one of the most experienced and most appreciated coaches in the scene, someone who for sure can guide them through the ever-changing tournament meta, and therefore, this might be the year when Southeast Asia will finally make it past the top 8 at The International.